A Time to Every Purpose
by neemu
Summary: Nov. 17 2005. This is getting a complete rewrite! It's about half finished at 11 chapters. Premise is still the same, I've just gained a little more experience in writing. Contains Mpreg but no slash.
1. Default Chapter

AN: Well, Here's the re-write. I hope you enjoy. It's quite a bit different from the original. I own nothing. Eveything Potter belongs to J.K.R. This is Mpreg and it has spoilers for GoF and is AU from the end of GoF.

He was nervous. He was really nervous. So nervous in fact that he was pacing back and forth in the entry hall, chewing his nails down to the painful point. It was the first Saturday following that disastrous Tri-wizard tournament and Cho had asked him if he would go for a walk with her. Ordinarily that in its self would have been enough to make him a nervous wreck, but that wasn't the problem this time. The problem was that he knew what she wanted to talk to him about. Cedric. She was going to ask him what had happened in that maze. Harry was one of the few people who knew that Cedric and Cho had been more than just dating. They had been engaged. She had a right to know what had happened to her fiancé, but Harry didn't know if he was ready to talk about it. He felt responsible for Cedric's death. It has been his idea for them to both claim the cup at the center of the maze. The portkey that had delivered them straight into Voldemort's hands.

Harry stopped his pacing and looked up at the sound of footsteps on the marble stairs. She was a beautiful girl; you'd have to blind not to see that. Long straight black hair, eyes with just a hint of an asian tilt to them and a creamy almond complexion. But her eyes had a sadness to them now. She approached Harry and gave him a brief hug before looping her arm in his and heading out the big double doors of the entrance hall. They walked in silence for awhile, until they reached the edge of the lake. He watched as she stared out over the water, tracing the ripples on the surface that were most like caused by the giant squid some where in it's depths. She finally turned to look at him.

"Can you tell me what happened, Harry, please?" She said as her eyes took on a glassy sheen. Harry sighed and looked out over the water himself. He started at the beginning of the maze challenge. He told her of how he and Cedric had helped each other get through the maze and away from a bewitched Viktor Krum. At how they had both spotted and reached the cup at the same time and pushed each other to claim it. And of how he had suggested that they both claim it. He told her about how confused and disoriented they were after the portkey trip and his horror when he realized where they were a second to late. How he had urged Cedric to run only to watch him crumple after Voldemort's order to 'kill the spare'.

"He helped save my life you know?" He said to Cho, who was now crying openly, as he placed his arm around her shoulders. He told her about how his and Voldemort's wands had reacted when they tried to use them on each other. How the ghosts of all those that Voldemort's wand had been used to kill had emerged one by one from its tip. How Cedric's ghost had asked Harry to take him home and his parents telling him to hold on. He told her that when he broke the connection between the wands, the ghosts had lingered to create cover for Harry to get to Cedric's body and 'accio' the portkey that brought them back. Harry looked back out over the water as he rubbed his hand soothingly up and down Cho's arm.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him and the others." He said. "And Cedric would be here if it wasn't for me." Cho gasped when he said that and turned wide eyes in his direction.

"Don't you say that Harry." She demanded as she swiped at the tears on her cheeks. "Don't you dare say that!" She turned to face him completely and grasped his chin to make him look at her. "This wasn't your fault. That…that…thing has been after you since you were a baby. You have no control over what he does and HE is the only one there is to blame here. Him and his followers. You didn't do anything wrong. You brought him home to us. You put yourself in danger to bring him home. Not even Dumbledore knew what was going on here Harry. How can you think you have any blame?" Harry just shook his head, gently removing her hand from his chin.

"I put people in danger just by being near them." He said softly. He saw her thinking about how to reply, but before she could another voice interrupted.

"To right Potter." Harry and Cho both spun around at the sound of the whiney voice behind them. Peter Pettigrew in all of his shabbiness stood there. Right in the open by the lake. "You always seem to bring a spare that needs killing." He said with a malicious smile. Harry immediately pulled Cho behind him as he whipped out his wand, pointing it firmly at Pettigrew. He said nothing, just concentrated on making sure that the weasely little man stayed in his sight. "My master wants a word with you Potter. He asked me to escort you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Harry said in a quiet voice. His eyes and his wand never wavering. He could feel Cho behind him as she got her own wand out and at the ready. Wormtail shook his head.

"Come, come now Potter. You wouldn't want this pretty little thing hurt now would you?" Harry could hear Cho gasp behind him and was amazed when she stepped out from behind him and walked toward Pettigrew seeming to be in a daze.

"No!" Harry yelled as he tried to keep his wand pointed at the man. "No! I'll come! Just leave her be, please!" Cho stopped.

"That's better." Pettigrew crooned. "Just drop your wand and walk to me." Harry glanced quickly at Cho and did as he was told. He dropped his wand and slowly started to walk toward the other wizard. As he did so, Cho slumped to the ground with a groan. Just as Harry was about to walk past her, she rose up on her knees and pointed her wand at Wormtail.

"Petrificus To.." Wormtail finished his attack first

"Impedimenta!" He yelled. Cho's spell changed to a scream as she was blasted right off of her knees and flew backward into the trunk of a tree. Harry barely had time to think as he dove back at his wand. With it firmly in his hand he rolled on to his back and took aim.

"Incarceruos!" Thick heavy ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves around Pettigrew from shoulders to ankles. Harry scrambled to his feet as his adversary toppled over. He ran over and quickly snatched the wand from Pettigrew's hand. He stood up and pointed his wand at the older man once again. Peter's eyes went wide. "Petrificus Totalis." Harry wasn't taking any chances on Pettigrew getting away this time. Once he was sure that the man wasn't going anywhere he ran to Cho. She was sitting on the ground, leaning against the tree that she had been thrown against. Harry crouched down beside her.

"Cho? Are you alright?" He asked. She slowly lifted her head to look at him. Her face was pale and her eyes bright with pain.

"I don't think so." She whispered. Harry saw a drop of blood form at the corner of her mouth. She brought a shaky hand up toward her chest. Her long hair was fanned out across her front so Harry reached out and gently swept it back over her shoulder. A small branch, about two and a half centimeters in diameter, protruded from the center of her chest.

"Oh my God." Harry said in a horrified whisper. He quickly grasped her hand to keep her from touching the piece of wood. "Don't touch it." He chided her gently. He looked up at the tree trunk and could see where the branch had been attached. It had impaled her and then broke off from her weight. He turned his attention back to Cho. Her breathing seemed labored.

"Cho, I have to go get help." Her grip on his hand tightened. "Hagrid's hut isn't far. I'll go get him and come right back." She had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't think there's time." She gasped out quietly. Harry shook his head vehemently.

"No! You're going to be fine. Don't you give up!" He insisted. Her breathing was worsening. It was rattling in her chest.

"Harry…Please." She said. "The baby… I don't want the baby to die." Harry closed his eyes as a wave of anguish washed over him. She was pregnant. She raised the wand that was still clasped tightly in her hand and pointed it at Harry.

"Accensere femineus as mas ad accipere proles." Harry recognized the words as Latin and got an inkling of their intent when a brief wave of pain flared through his abdomen, making him gasp. 'God' He thought. 'She can't die.' She had closed her eyes and lowered her wand. She was taking shallow gasping breaths. Harry felt tears start to course down his own cheeks as he glanced futily in the direction of Hagrid's hut. He screamed as load as he could.

"Help me! Somebody, Help me!" He looked back down at Cho. "Please." He sobbed out. She reached up and pulled weakly on his arm and he shifted closer to her. She took his hand and placed it over her stomach and then laid her own hand over his stomach as she tightened her grip on her wand again.

"Movere proles." He watched in awe as a tiny ball of light rose from her abdomen and hovered between them for a moment. It then drifted over to him and slowly sank down to disappear into his own stomach. Cho was barely able to breath by the time the spell was finished. Her lips were a dusky purple color and her face was ashen.

"We loved her…" She said as her thumb stroked over his abdomen. "You tell…her that." She looked back up at Harry. He couldn't believe this was happening. "Please Harry." She gasped out. Harry placed his hands over the one she still had against his stomach.

"I will. I promise." He choked out. He pulled her gently into his arms and she rested her head against his chest.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." She whispered, and Harry felt her go limp in his arms. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer as her breathing ceased.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry." When he opened his eyes again his gaze was drawn to Peter Pettigrew. He felt hatred and anger wash over him and had to restraining himself from going over and killing the little man right where he lay. He needed to get him to Dumbledore. Here was physical evidence that Voldemort was back and, Harry realized, that Sirius was innocent. He looked back down at the girl in his arms. He couldn't leave her here alone. He'd have to try and manage them both.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything Potter belongs to J.K.R. This is Mpreg and it has spoilers for GoF and is AU from the end of GoF.

Harry shifted Cho slightly so that his wand arm was under her knees and lifted her in his arms. He pointed his wand at Wormtail from under her knees.

"Wingardium leviosa." He muttered, and Wormtail lifted into the air. Harry started walking towards Hagrid's hut which was much closer than the castle. He found himself struggling as he closed the distance to Hagrid's. His adrenaline rush was wearing off and supporting Cho's weight while trying to maintain the levitation spell was quickly taking its toll. He stopped a few feet from Hagrid's door when he heard Fang barking inside, announcing his presence. He jerked his wand hand up as he dropped to his knees. Wormtail went crashing to the ground, but Cho was secure in Harry's arms. Hagrid's door flew open and he lumbered down the steps to Harry.

"Blimey Harry! What's 'appened?" He asked as he took in Cho's limp and bloodied form and Wormtail's bound one.

"He's killed her." Harry said in a hollow voice. He looked up at Hagrid. "It's Peter Petegrew. We need Professor Dumbledore." Hagrid went down on one knee in front of Harry and gently brushed Cho's hair back from her face.

"Le' me take 'er Harry." He said quietly. He gently began to ease Cho's body from Harry's arms. Harry tightened his hold for a second. "It's alright Harry." Hagrid took the girl into his own arms, stood, and headed back to his house. He came back out a few moments later, helped Harry to his feet and stomped over to Petegrew. He grabbed the little man up by the scruff of his neck and took him to into the house. Harry slowly followed him. He looked around when he entered the house. Wormtail had been dumped unceremoniously onto the hearth rug, while Cho had been carefully laid out on Hagrid's bed. Hagrid was already involved in a conversation via a floo connection. It was strange to see someone standing with their head in a fire. Harry leaned against the edge of Hagrid's bed and slowly let his feet slide out from under him until he was sitting on the floor. He pulled his knees up and hugged them while resting his forehead on them. Despite his fighting against them, Harry felt hot tears build up and start tracing down his face as he started shaking uncontrollably. His next breath came out in a sob. Hagrid was by his side almost instantly.

"It's alright Harry." He said as he gently rested his hand on the young man's back. "Dumbledore's on 'is way. It'll be alright." Harry felt his shaking worsen and his breathing started to come in panicky gasps. He felt his stomach start to roil. He turned away from Hagrid just in time to retch all over the floor. His breathing was becoming shallower and he started to feel light head, just as he heard the whoosh of someone arriving through the floo network.

Professor Dumbledore hurried over and knelt next to Harry, quietly banishing the mess he had made on the floor. As he looked at the professor, Harry had a few seconds to note the blurred edges to his vision before he passed out.

When he next awoke, it was to confusion. He was in a soft bed, covered with blankets and from the dusky light shining through the window; it seemed that a few hours had passed since his last conscious thought. He quickly collected his thoughts and experienced a jolt of remorse when he remembered what had happened earlier that day. A quick glance around confirmed, even with out his glasses, that he was in the infirmary. Just as he sat up and began to reach for his glasses on the bed-side table, Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office.

"Well, Potter, I'm glad to see you awake." She said with a kindly smile as she stopped by his bed side.

"What happened?" He asked. "I remember going into Hagrid's and Professor Dumbledore coming." He looked at her questioningly. "And then I was waking up here." She gave him a small sympathetic smile.

"You hyperventilated and passed out." She said as she took a seat next to his bed. "Hagrid carried you up here while Professor Dumbledore dealt Mr. Petegrew." Harry sat up straight.

"Where is he?" He asked. "He can't get away again. Not this time. He killed Cho." Harry's voice rose as spoke and he felt a rage building inside of him. Madame Pomfrey placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Calm your self Potter or I'll be force to give you a calming potion." She told him. "Petegrew is already in Azkaban. You've been out for about 4 hours. Professor Dumbledore contacted the ministry as soon as he himself made sure that Peter wasn't going anywhere. They came and collected him about two hours ago. He's to be held in their highest security ward until his trial. He won't be going anywhere. They've even placed wards on his cell that makes it impossible for him to transform into his animagus form."

"And Cho?" Harry asked, though he didn't need to hear that she was gone. She had died in his arms. The Medi-witch sighed and shook her head.

"She's gone. There was nothing I could have done for her, even if she had gotten here immediately after the injury. The damage to her heart was quiet extensive. Her parents have been contacted." Harry nodded his head and then looked up at her.

"Did her parents know about the baby?" The witch looked at him in shock before shaking her head.

"I don't think so. She had only just found out a few weeks ago herself. As far as I know, she had still been trying to work up the courage to tell Cedric when he died. I guess it doesn't really matter now." She looked at him questioningly. "But, how did you know Harry? Surely she didn't tell you before telling her own parents?" Harry shook his head.

"She told me before she died." He said. He looked at her imploringly. "I think she may have given me the baby." Her mouth dropped open in shock as he said this. She quickly regained herself.

"What makes you say that Harry? What happened?" She watched as he brought his hand up to touch his stomach.

"She knew she was dying. She could hardly breathe. She pointed her wand at me and said a spell. It sounded old. Latin, I think. Then she put my hand on her stomach and she touched mine while she said another spell. A little ball of light came out of her and then moved into me. She must have told Cedric about the baby, because she said that they loved her and made me promise to tell her that." He was unconsciously stroking his thumb over his stomach as he spoke. The same way that Cho had. He looked up at the matron. "Can you tell?" He asked her. "Can you tell if the baby is there and if it's alright?" His eyes teared as he asked her. He desperately hoped that her spell had worked. That the baby was alright. He couldn't bear the thought that it might have failed. The witch nodded slightly.

"I can search for its heartbeat. It's a simple spell. If the baby is alive the spell will find its heart beat and amplify it so that we can hear it." She stood and retrieved her wand from her apron pocket. "Lie down for me Potter." Harry laid back down and watched her. "Ready?" She asked him. He nodded and closed his eyes, praying that Cho's spells had worked. "Audire cor pulsare a proles." She said as she pointed her wand at him. For a few horrible moments there was only silence, but it was quickly chased away by a loud and steady 'whoosh whoosh' sound. Harry opened his eyes and looked at the matron. She smiled and nodded to him. "The baby's alright Harry. It's got a steady, strong heart beat." He covered his face with his hands and cried in relief.

After a few moments he felt a soft touch on his shoulder and looked up to see Madame Pomfrey offering him a lace edged handkerchief. He took it with mumbled thanks and began mopping up his face.

"I'm going to need to examine you to figure out how to proceed from here Harry." She said as she sat on the edge of his bed. "I think I can safely assume that you want to try and continue the pregnancy?" She said with a questioning tone. Harry nodded, not yet trusting his voice enough to speak. "Are you quiet sure Harry? You're only fourteen, and this isn't exactly something that your body was meant to do. It may be difficult for you." Harry nodded his head again.

"I'm sure. I don't care how hard it might get. This baby is all that's left of their family. I promised I would take care of her and I'm going to do everything I can to keep that promise." He heaved a big sigh and blew his nose before looking back up at Madame Pomfrey. "What do we do next?" He asked.

"Well, your clothes had blood all over them when you came in, so I automatically put you into an infirmary gown," Harry quickly glanced down surprised that he hadn't noticed that little fact. "But in order to do a prenatal exam I'll need you bare from the waist down and the gown turned around so that it opens in the front." Harry began to blush furiously. "But obviously we don't want to do this exam out on the open floor." She stood up and pulled back Harry's blankets. "Let's move this back to one of the private rooms. I'll help you up, but go slowly. I don't want you getting dizzy and falling." She grasped one of his upper arms and helped him get slowly to his feet. "Alright?" She asked once he was fully standing.

"Yeah, I think so. I don't feel dizzy or light headed or anything." She nodded and started to lead him back to the private cubicles that were closer to her office. Once they got inside one of the rooms she left go of his arm and went over to a small cabinet situated next to the bed. She pulled out a folded sheet and laid it on the bed.

"You can cover up with the sheet. Just push the little red button on the night stand when you're ready." Harry nodded as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Harry heaved another sigh. Would he ever have a normal life? He looked down at his stomach and smiled a sad smile.

"I don't blame you though." He said quietly as he touched the flat surface. "I'm glad you're alright." He reached up and un-did the tie that was holding the gown closed at the back of his neck. He quickly shrugged out of it and flipped it around, putting it on the other way, open down the front. He retied the strings at his neck and noticed that there were two more sets of ties down the length of the gown which fell to just above his knees.

He tied these as tight as they would go, before pushing off his boxers. He picked them up off of the floor, folded them and stuffed them out of sight under the pillow. He sat on the bed and quickly covered his lower half with the sheet before pressing the button to call for Madame Pomfrey. She must have been waiting right outside of the room because she entered almost as soon as he pushed the button. She noticed his red face and the fact the he didn't seem to want to meet her gaze. She smiled gently.

"I know this must be an embarrassing situation for you Harry, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible." He gave her a wry smile back. "Lie back for me please Harry." He turned and lay back on the cot, making sure to keep himself covered in the process. She reached for the sheet and folded it down to his hips before untying the center tie on the gown. "Alright Harry, I'm just going to poke around a little bit. I want you to tell me anytime you feel any pain or tenderness, alright?" She said as she rubbed her hands together a bit to warm them. Harry nodded. She started out high on his stomach, just under his rib cage, pressing here and there, waiting for any reaction from Harry. When she pressed down just above his pubic bone he felt a slight ache.

"There," He said. "That's a little tender." She nodded and continued pressing around the area, sometimes pressing in quite sharply. It seemed to Harry that she was trying to feel the area from different angles. After a few moments she stopped and reached for the notepad that was lying on the night stand. She jotted down a few notes and turned back to Harry.

"Now comes the unpleasant bit I'm afraid Harry." She said with a sympathetic look. "I need to check and see if the spell has made any changes to your reproductive system. On the rare occurrences that these spells were used on men, they modified the recipient to allow for a natural birth. I need to see if this is the case for you." Harry blushed an even darker red, but nodded his consent. "I'll need you to bend your knees up for me Harry." She said as she reached for a pair of sterile exam glove in the bedside table. He pulled up his knees, resting his feet flat on the bed. She folded the sheet up on top of his knees and gently pushed them open. Harry didn't resist, but he wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment. He just stared straight up at the ceiling as she bent to examine him.

"Harry," He quickly drew his attention back to the nurse. "You have been changed." She said gently. "I'm going to need to do an internal exam. To see if the birth canal is complete. It might be a bit uncomfortable." Harry nodded again. When she bent back down to examine him again he resumed his staring match with the ceiling. For about two seconds. He hissed in a breath and clutched at the sheets beneath him. She had inserted what he assumed was her fingers into what he assumed was the birth canal she had spoken of, and it bloody well hurt. 'A bit uncomfortable' was an understatement. "Sorry." She said with an apologetic smile. "I'll be through in a minute." He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain as she continued. He finally breathed a relieved sigh a minute or two later when she withdrew her hand and pulled the sheet back over his knees. "You can sit up now if you want, Harry." She pulled off the gloves and threw them into the rubbish bin beside the bed. He sat up and pulled his knees up in front of him looping his arms around them.

"Will I live?" He asked in a shaky attempt at humor. In truth, he was terrified. What had her spell done to him? Was it permanent? Madame Pomfrey gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I think you'll survive." She said still smiling. "I'll need to run some blood tests, but from what I've seen so far, Cho's spell has given you everything you need to carry this baby to term and to deliver it. Naturally. For the time being, you have two separate sets of reproductive organs Harry. Your own natural system and a female system put in place by the spell." Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, but she held up her hand, heading him off. "It's not permanent. The changes will disappear when the pregnancy ends. Besides doing some blood work, I would like to give you an ultrasound as well. I'll need to owl St. Mungos and get them to loan me a machine. I was planning to do it in order to monitor Cho when she came back to school anyway." She said as she smiled at him. "I don't think I need to subject you to any more tests this evening. You've had enough to deal with today. Do you have any questions for me Harry?" Harry just looked at her. Was she serious? Did he have any questions! Only about a million of them. But his mind was jumping from one to the next so fast he couldn't focus on one long enough to ask it. He took a deep breath and mentally told himself to calm down.

"What kind of things should I be avoiding now?" He asked. "I don't know what things are harmful for the baby or anything." He said, starting to get a little anxious. She stood and crossed the room to another table. She pulled a number of small pamphlets from a drawer and returned, handing them to Harry.

"Read those. They should help answer a lot of your questions. Anything served here at the school should be fine. Just use common sense. Take it easy on sugar and salt, drink plenty of fluids. Eat Healthy." She said as she resumed her seat beside him. "Now, just to give you fair warning. The baby's placenta is flooding your body with a lot of unfamiliar hormones right now. Hormones that are necessary to maintain the pregnancy. Unfortunately, they also have a rather unpleasant side effect known as morning sickness. Don't let the name fool you. The nausea can hit anytime of day or night." Harry frowned. That sounded very unpleasant. "I would not be surprised if you wake up feeling sick tomorrow morning. Unfortunately there isn't much to be done for it." She patted his knee as she stood back up. "Read the pamphlets. They'll tell you little tricks that can help." She walked over to a wardrobe on the far side of the room and removed a dressing gown. She carried it to Harry and laid it across the bottom of his bed.

"I'll send for you tomorrow when I receive the Ultrasound machine from St. Mungos. I want to get a good look at that baby before we send you home." Harry nodded his head absently as he stared at the pamphlets in his hands. Madame Pomfrey gave him a sympathetic smile and touched his shoulder to get his attention. "It'll be alright Harry." She said reassuringly. "It'll be time for supper soon. Why don't you head back to your room and get dressed. You don't want to go down there in that do you?" Harry smiled slightly and shook his head as he reached for the dressing gown. He slipped it on and stuffed the pamphlets into the pocket. "If you need anything before I send for you tomorrow, don't hesitate to come see me."

"Alright. Thank you." He said as he walked toward the door. His mind was spinning as he walked back to Gryffindor tower. He was going to have a baby. A real live little person was growing inside of him. It was amazing and terrifying all at the same time. He could only hope that every one would support the decision he had made. He sighed as paused before the Gryffindor Portrait. It would be a true test of his friendships.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything Potter belongs to J.K.R. This is Mpreg and it has spoilers for GoF and is AU from the end of GoF.

Harry dreaded the thought of heading down to supper. He was sure that the news of what had happened would be all over the school by now. He sat on his bed after changing his clothes and looked at his clock. The meal was already half over by now. He seriously considered skipping the meal and would have if it weren't for the baby. He'd only glanced at the pamphlets from Madame Pomfrey. He didn't know if skipping a meal would be bad for the baby or not. He sighed deeply and slowly stood and headed out the door.

The great hall was packed as usual, but as Harry entered no one seemed to notice. One or two people smiled as he walked past their seats, but no one stared or pointed or anything. Harry, glad for the brief respite, could only assume that no one knew yet. He glanced toward Cho's normal seat and saw her friends talking, frowns creasing their foreheads. He quickly walked to the Gryffindor table and sat himself between Ron and Neville.

"Harry!" Hermione said in a relieved voice. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you." She asked as he spooned some mashed potatoes on to his plate. "How did the walk with Cho go?" Harry froze for a second at the mention of her name but quickly regained his composure and moved onto the roast beef. He glanced around and then looked at Hermione.

"Not very well." He told her. Her brow creased in confused worry. "I'll tell you later. I don't want to talk about it here." She reached up and touched his hand.

"Are you alright Harry?" She asked him quietly. He was surprised to feel the sting of tears in his eyes.

"Not really." He said as he stared at his plate. "Just...Please, I'll tell you later. Alright?" She nodded to him and looked at Ron, who had caught on that there was something wrong. They shared a concerned look, but continued with their meals. Ron and Hermione finished their meals first and waited in silence for Harry to finish his. He didn't eat much, but he figured that a little was better than none. He pushed his plate away with a sigh before looking at his friends and getting to his feet. The trio made their way to the empty Gryffindor common room where they took their usual seats clustered in front of the fireplace. They sat in silence for a few moments as Harry stared into the flames, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Harry?" Hermione finally queried. "What's wrong?" She coaxed gently. "Cho wasn't at dinner and you're out of sorts. Did you argue?" Harry took a steadying breath as he shook his head.

"No, we didn't fight. She asked about what happened to Cedric and I told her. Did you know they were engaged?" He asked as he looked up at Hermione. She and Ron both shook their heads. Harry looked back down at his hands. "They were." He said. "And they were going to have a family. Cho was pregnant." He said the last part in a near whisper and heard Hermione gasp in surprise.

"Was?" She queried as she looked at Harry with a pained expression. Harry looked back at the fire.

"She's dead." He said. His voice cracked as he said it. "Wormtail showed up again. He killed her." Hermione brought shaky hands up to cover her mouth which was hanging open in shock.

"Oh, Harry." She said quietly as her eyes filled with tears. Ron just sat there, shocked into silence.

"Now their both dead and it's all my fault." He said as he continued to stare into the fire. Tears ran unnoticed down his cheeks. Hermione gasped and immediately crossed to his seat. She knelt in front of him, forcing him to meet her tear filled gaze.

"Now you listen to me Harry Potter!" She said in a firm but shaky tone. "This is not your fault. None of this. You can't control what other people do anymore than Ron or I can. Are we to blame in any of this?" Harry shook his head. "That's right. We're not, and neither are you. It's his decisions that lead to the deaths around you, not yours. We all know that you do everything in your power to stop him and someday somebody will succeed. And he'll be gone, for good." Harry nodded to her as he gasped in a sob.

"I wish that day was now." He said. Hermione pulled his head down to her shoulder and held him as he cried. Even Ron came over to perch on the arm of Harry's chair and rested a comforting hand on his back. After a few moments Harry was able to sit back in his seat and try to regain his composure. He blew out a shaky breath before looking back at his friends. He decided to just come right out and tell them about the baby.

"Cho gave me their baby before she died." He said. Ron looked completely confused and Hermione looked suspicious.

"What do you mean Harry?" She asked.

"Before she died she transferred her baby into me. She didn't want it to die." Hermione glanced down at the hand Harry had rested on his abdomen. He didn't even realize he had moved it.

"Oh, Harry. What are you going to do?" Hermione asked him. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"The only thing I can do. I'm going to try and have it. I won't let their baby die too. Not if I can help it." Hermione grasped the hand he had on his stomach and gave it a squeeze.

"Have you told anyone?" She asked. He nodded.

"Madame Pomfrey knows. She checked me out. She said the baby seems to be fine. Professor Dumbledore knows about Cho's death and I'm sure Madame Pomfrey has told him about me by now. I just hope he let's me stay in school." He said as glanced longingly around the common room. "Hogwarts is the only real home I have. The only place I'm really happy." He looked back down at the hand covering his stomach. "I dread going to the Dursley's." Hermione glanced quickly at Ron before looking back at Harry.

"Harry, you need to tell them about how your relatives treat you." Harry looked sharply up at Hermione. She met his gaze without flinching. "We know that locking you in your room in our second year is just the tip of the iceberg Harry. You're always so thin when the new term starts and you always look so worn out. Your clothes are obviously your cousin's old things. When I first met you your glasses were held together with tape." She stopped for a breath and noticed Harry was no longer looking at her. He was staring into the fire again a flush to his cheeks. 'He's ashamed.' She thought. She raised her hand and cupped his cheek in her palm to make him look at her. "You've nothing to be ashamed of Harry. You have no more control over your relatives than you do over You-Know-Who. But, I wouldn't be surprised if there's even more going on than we're able to guess at. If you're treated that way this summer...Harry... You'll lose the baby. You'll miscarry." He blanched white as he realized she was right. He'd only glanced at the papers Madame Pomfrey had given him, but he knew that a balanced diet and rest were important. He felt helpless.

"What am I going to do Hermione?" He asked her in a quiet voice. She smiled at him and wiped a stray tear from his cheek.

"You'll talk to Professor Dumbledore. You'll tell him what goes on and ask for his help. He'll make sure your safe Harry." He nodded his head and she leaned up to give him another hug, which he returned gratefully, burying his face in her mass of hair. She pulled back and kissed his forehead. "It'll be alright Harry. You'll see." He smiled at her. He looked up at Ron who was still perched on the arm of his chair.

"We'll help however we can Mate. All you have to do is ask." He said as he clasped Harry's shoulder in his hand. Harry in turn gave a jaw popping yawn which caused the other two to chuckle.

"Thanks you guys." He said a bit sheepishly. "It really means a lot to me to know that you'll be there for me." He yawned again. "I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore in the morning. Right now, I just want to go to bed." Ron and Hermione walked him over to the stairway leading to the dorms and he bid them both good night. He didn't even notice when his hand strayed up to rest on his stomach as he snuggled under his covers and drifted off to sleep.

Harry gasped as he suddenly jerked awake, a cold sweat on his forehead. He'd been dreaming, but he couldn't remember what it was about. He just knew it wasn't good. He sat up and groped for his glasses on the night stand. As soon as he sat up his stomach started a slow roll in protest of the movement. He groaned as he put on his glasses and slowly laid back down. He closed his eyes and stayed still until his stomach stopped it's protesting and then slowly tried to get up again. It wasn't as bad as the first attempt but he still had to swallow a few times as he rested a hand against his queasy stomach. Madame Pomfrey had warned him. He slowly made his way over to his dresser and pulled out clothes for the day. He arrived in the Great hall for breakfast looking pale. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked at him questioningly while Ron went on with his breakfast, completely oblivious. He turned to Harry and smiled.

"Eat up Harry. Can't be skipping meals now." He said as he shoved a plate of eggs at Harry. Harry swallowed thickly but it proved to be of no use when Ron proceeded to plop two thick sausages on Harry's plate as well. As soon as the smell hit his nose he gagged. He hopped up from the bench with his hand clapped over his mouth and ran for the nearest bathroom, not hearing a bit of the berating that Ron received from Hermione.

Harry rested his forehead against the cool stone of the bathroom wall. Once he was sure his stomach was finished rebelling, he pulled himself up from the cold stone floor of the toilet stall and walked over to the sink. He wiped off his face and rinsed the acid taste from his mouth. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with morning sickness for too long. When he joined his friends again at the table, there was a nice inoffensive plate of very lightly buttered toast and a glass of juice waiting for him. Hermione rubbed his back a bit when he sat back down.

"Are you alright Harry?" She asked. He nodded and warily picked up a piece of toast. "Just take small bites." Hermione told him. By the time breakfast was over, he had managed to eat the toast and drink some of the juice as well. The trio was just about to head back up to the common room when Professor McGonagall approached and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"The Headmaster would like to see you in his office Mr. Potter." She said. She leaned down closer to him. "You have my sympathies for what you had to go through yesterday Harry." He nodded in acknowledgment as he stood up.

"I'll see you guys later." He said to Ron and Hermione and followed his head of house to the Headmaster's office. Professor McGonagall issued a long suffering sigh when they paused at the gargoyle guarding the office before relaying the pass word.

"Jelly Bellies." She said in a rather exasperated tone. Harry chuckled. He did have to admit though that the colorful muggle candies were a nice alternative to Bertie Botts. No sardine, boogie, or vomit flavored Jelly bellies. He'd had quite enough of vomit flavored things. When they entered the office from the spiraling staircase Harry saw the Headmaster and Madame Pomfrey waiting for them. Madame Pomfrey gave him a reassuring smile as Professor McGonagall ushered him to an empty seat and took the last one for her self. Professor Dumbledore held a small glass bowl out to Harry.

"Lemon drop, Harry?" He offered. After a lemon drop had been offered to all he focused his twinkling gaze on Harry. "Well Harry. I understand from Madame Pomfrey that yesterday's events have left you with a bit of a predicament." Harry glanced at Madame Pomfrey and nodded his head.

"Yes Sir." He said. He shifted in his seat as he felt his stomach start that awful rolling sensation again. Most likely a reaction to his nerves, he thought. The headmaster leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his desk, as he contemplated Harry.

"I also understand that you want to try and carry the child to term." Professor McGonagall gasped at the mention of the baby as the headmaster continued speaking. "Are you sure about this Harry? You're very young to be taking on such a large responsibility." Harry met the headmaster's gaze and felt that he had never been more sure of anything in his life, or more scared.

"Yes Sir. I'm very sure." He glanced at Madame Pomfrey who gave him another reassuring nod and smile. "I promised Cho, and this baby deserves a chance at life." He said as he touched his stomach. He looked back at the headmaster, very nervous about the answer to his next question. "Will I be able to stay in school Professor? I don't want to have to leave. I'll give up Quidditch and do everything Madame Pomfrey tells me to, just please don't make me leave. Hogwarts is my home." He blinked against the burning in his eyes as he finished his question and his head of house gave a rather suspicious sounding sniff as she studied her hands in her lap. Professor Dumbledore nodded as he sat back in his chair.

"Well, you will still need to return to your aunt and uncle for the summer holidays, but I see no reason why you shouldn't return at the start of term. If Madame Pomfrey is willing to see to your care and you follow all of her instructions, I see no problems." Harry heaved a huge sigh of relief. "However, if you do manage to carry this baby to term we will need to address the situation further once it is born. I still do not foresee you having to leave Hogwarts, but there will need to be certain changes depending on what you decide you want to do with the baby." Harry nodded. That was more than he had dared hope for. The headmaster looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Are you willing to see to Harry's care Poppy?" Madame Pomfrey nodded.

"Of course. I'll need to do some reading up on his situation, but I think I'll be able to handle it." Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"We will need to inform the other teachers as well. This pregnancy will demand that he have alternate studies for some of the course work. Some of the spells just aren't safe in his condition. Potions will be especially challenging." Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall both nodded in agreement. The nurse even snorted in laughter. The headmaster shot her a questioning look. She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture as she continued to chuckle.

"I'm sure Severus will just be so pleased to work out alternate studies for Harry." She said in a sarcastic tone. The headmaster smiled openly as Professor McGonagall tried to hide hers behind her hand.  
"I'm sure he'll see it as a wonderful challenge." The headmaster relied. Poppy just snorted again. "Now, is there anything else to discuss before we let Harry here return to his friends?" Harry looked at the group and tentively raised his hand. "Yes, Harry?" All eyes were on him. He took a deep breath.

"It's about the Dursleys, Sir. I never said anything about it before, but I have to now." He looked down at his hands resting in his lap then back up at the headmaster. "I'm afraid for the baby if I go back there. When I go home for the summer they pretty much treat me like their personal house elf. Aunt Petunia leaves a list of chores for me every day. It's usually a really long list. Mostly all of the house, yard, and garden work. Really physical stuff. If I don't get it all done o r if it's not done to their satisfaction, then Uncle Vernon will lock me in my room. It might be few a hours before he lets me out or a few days." He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "It depends on his mood I guess. It's not unusual for me to go a couple of days with out eating, and when I do get to eat it's not much." Harry looked at the three faces around him. They all registered varying degrees of shock, sympathy, and anger. His head of house was the first to speak.

"That's why you're always so thin when the new term starts." She said quietly. Harry nodded. "Oh, Harry. Why didn't you tell someone? We could have done something about it." She looked like she had tears in her eyes. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"It's been like that my whole life. I didn't want anyone to know." He looked at the headmaster. "Although, I thought you might have known a little bit about it, sir." The headmaster look surprised.

"Why would you think I knew Harry? Surely you don't think I would have knowingly left you in that situation?" Harry could see that he was a little hurt by the idea.

"When my letter for Hogwarts came, it was addressed to my cupboard." He said. Every one gave him confused looks. "Up until my first summer back from Hogwarts I slept in the cupboard under the stairs at my Aunt and Uncle's. I didn't have a bedroom. My letter came addressed to 'Harry Potter, the cupboard under the stairs, number 4 Privet Drive.' I just thought you knew." The headmaster looked anguished.

"Those letters are addressed magically Harry. I had no idea." Harry was surprised to feel a sense of relief at this news. They didn't know. He hadn't knowingly been sent back to that abuse each year. He nodded his head.

"Well, anyway, I just thought that I needed to say something about it now. It's not just me that will be affected this time." He said as he cast a quick glance down to his stomach. Madame Pomfrey was shaking her head.

"He can't go back to that kind of treatment Albus." She said firmly. "He'll lose the baby with-in a week if he's subjected to that kind of abuse. He needs to be able to rest. He shouldn't be exerting himself and he needs to eat! At least three good meals a day, preferably more than that." She had gotten to her feet and was pacing back and forth, working herself into a rant. Professor Dumbledore had his hand out in front of him, trying to get her attention and quiet her.

"Poppy, please. It is quite obvious that something needs to be done." He gestured to her seat. "We will figure something out. Please, take your seat and we can discuss this rationally." She took her seat and looked at the headmaster expectantly. He rocked back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking.

"It seems to me, that our best option is to make visits to the Dursley's." He said. He looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Poppy, would you be willing to make the visits? You'll be able to do his medical checkups at the same time." She paused for a moment, thinking, before she began nodding her head. "How often would you like to check on him?" He asked.

"I'd like to be able to see him at least once a week. This pregnancy is going to be hard on him." She smiled at Harry and placed a comforting hand on his arm before looking back at the headmaster. "I also think he should be given a means to contact us if something should happen between visits." Both professors were nodding in agreement. Harry's gaze was darting between the three adults. He started to worry when he saw the twinkle return full force to the headmaster's eyes, accompanied by a large smile.

"I think I have the perfect solution." He said. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Dobby." He replied. Three sets of brows furrowed in confusion and Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "We'll send Dobby home with Harry for the summer. Dobby can make sure that Harry is being properly cared for between visits and we all know how protective he is of Harry." Harry smiled, remembering the incident in his second year with Lucius Malfoy. "Dobby will also be able to get in touch with one of us if Harry runs into any trouble." Harry had his doubts. Uncle Vernon would never let Dobby in his house.

"Professor?" He said. "Uncle Vernon hates anything at all to do with our world. He'll never let Dobby in his house." He was encouraged a bit by the headmaster's chuckle.

"Harry, I would love to see your uncle try and stop Dobby once he has been given the task of watching over you for the summer. Dobby will brave anything he has to in order to fulfill his duties. What is your uncle going to do? Call the muggle police?" Harry smiled when he realized that the professor was right. Dobby was quite persistent. "I will accompany you home tomorrow rather than having you ride the train. I will explain to your uncle that your health is precarious right now and that you will be treated accordingly. I will also inform him of Poppy's weekly visits and of Dobby staying with you for the summer." The headmaster's eyes took on a mischievous look. "You may not be allowed to do magic outside of school, but Dobby is. Your family will be made well aware of that fact."

Harry felt like hugging the headmaster and crying at the same time. From the moment he first heard the baby's heartbeat there had been that niggling worry in the back of his mind. It wasn't until Hermione had brought it up that he realized what it was. He had been worried about the summer. Knowing that Dobby would be with him and that Madame Pomfrey would be by weekly made him feel like a ton of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As the three adults discussed the finer details of his summer arrangements Harry's thoughts drifted to the baby. It scared him a bit to realize how much of an impact this baby was already having on his life. So far the changes all seemed to be for the better, but Harry wasn't stupid. A baby was a lot of work. He still had school to finish and a madman trying to kill him every other week. How was he going to take care of a baby? He remembered that Madame Pomfrey had said that Cho and Cedric's parents didn't know about the pregnancy. Perhaps, if they were told, one of the sets of grandparents might like to raise the baby. After all, it would be their grandchild. All that was left of Cedric and Cho. He was drawn from his reverie when Professor Dumbledore called his name. Harry looked at him expectantly. The headmaster smiled at him.

"I asked if there was anything else you wanted to discuss, Harry." Harry blushed slightly at having been caught lost in his thoughts, but nodded.

"Madame Pomfrey told me that Cho and Cedric's parents don't know about the baby." The matron nodded when the headmaster looked at her. Harry continued. "Perhaps one of them might like to take the baby when it's born. It'll be their grandchild." Harry looked down and rubbed the still flat surface of his stomach. "I'm sure it'll be hard for me to give the baby up after it's born. I already feel an attachment to it, but, bad things always seem to happen around me. The baby would be better off with its grandparents." He blinked back a slight sting in his eyes before looking back to the headmaster. "Would you talk to them about it Professor? I wouldn't know what to say to them." The headmaster nodded.

"Of course I will. Once I've talked with them I will come to see you and let you know what they decide." He gave Harry a warm smile. "I commend you for what you are doing for this baby Harry. You have no obligation to continue this pregnancy, but you choose to and I am very proud of you for that." Harry returned his smile. "Now, I believe that you still have an hour or two until lunch is served and you probably still have a lot of packing to do and we don't want to keep you from it any longer." Harry stood to leave. Madame Pomfrey stopped him on his way out

"Have you told Ron and Hermione about what has happened?" She asked. Harry nodded. "Good. No lifting for you. If you have something strenuous that needs doing, you get Mr. Weasley to do it. Understood?" She gave him a stern look. Harry smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes Mam." He looked at each person in the room and smiled again. "Thank you all for helping me. I can't tell you how much it means to me." He turned and left the room, for once feeling hopeful about his future.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N : Story is MPreg, but not slash. Contains spoilers for GoF and is AU from the end of GoF on. I own nothing but the plot. Anything you might recognize most likely belongs to JKR. Now, on with the story :D

Harry felt oddly content as he made his way back up to the Gryffindor dorms. He was to meet with Professor Dumbledore and Dobby in the entrance hall after he had seen his friends off for the summer. Dobby, of course, was ecstatic that he was going to spend the summer looking after his favorite wizard. He was still a little worried about the reaction of the Dursleys though, despite Professor Dumbledore's reassurances. The rest of his afternoon was spent packing his things into his trunk and just spending time with Ron and Hermione before they had to part ways for most of the summer.

"Hey Harry?" Ron said, as they sat folding clothes on their beds. Harry looked up. "Do you think Dumbledore will still let you come to the Burrow for the end of summer?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know." He looked down at the jumper in his hand. It was the one Mrs. Weasley had made for him the previous Christmas. He looked back up at Ron. "I hope so. I don't want to have to spend the entire summer with the Dursleys." He made a disgusted face at the thought. "They're going to be awful this year. I just know it." He sighed. "I'll ask the professor tomorrow and I'll send Hedwig to let you know what he says." Ron nodded.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed." He said with a smile at Harry. They packed for a while in silence until Hermione knocked on the door and entered.

"Harry, Madame Pomfrey sent me up for you. She says she got the machine from St. Mungos?" She looked at him quizzically. Harry smiled.

"It's an ultrasound machine. She said she wants to get a good look at the baby before I go home." Hermione nodded. Harry noticed that she seemed to have a longing look in her eye. "Do you want to come along?" He asked her and Ron. "If she decides I need to undress or something equally embarrassing, you can just leave." She grinned from ear to ear.

"We'd love to. Are you sure she won't mind?" She asked as the trio started out for the hospital wing. Harry shook his head.

"I doubt it. She seemed glad that I had already told you what was going on. I think it'll be alright." He looked at Hermione who was smiling so brightly it was contagious. He smiled too. "Its going to be strange actually seeing the baby. I wonder what it looks like right now." Hermione looked to be thinking.

"It depends on how far along it is." She looked at Harry. "Did Madame Pomfrey tell you how many weeks it is?" Harry shook his head. "But you heard the heartbeat, right?" He nodded. "Well, the heart beat isn't usually audible until around nine weeks I think. So it should be at least that far along. You'll be surprised by how much it looks just like a little person." They had arrived at the hospital wing and Ron pushed open the door for them to enter. Madame Pomfrey was no where to be seen.

"Madame Pomfrey?" Harry called as they proceeded into the main room. The matron's head appeared from around the doorway to the private room that Harry's exam had been in.

"Back here dear." She said. The trio entered the room and she smiled at Harry. He gestured to Ron and Hermione.

"Is it alright if Ron and Hermione are here? If you need to do an exam or anything again they can leave. Hermione just seemed really interested when I told her about the ultrasound." Madame Pomfrey ushered them further into the room.

"No, no, that's quite alright. As long as you don't mind them seeing your bare stomach." Harry just grinned and shook his head. "Well, then, let's get started, shall we?" She steered Harry toward the bed. "Just lie down for me dear and bare your mid-drift please." Harry unbuttoned his shirt and laid down as Madame Pomfrey pushed a small cart to the side of the bed. She turned and looked at Harry. "Can you lower the waist band on your trousers a bit as well please?" Harry nodded and proceeded to take off his belt and push the too large waistband down to his hips. He didn't even need to unbutton them. Madame Pomfrey pointed to the other side of Harry's bed. "Ron, Hermione, you two can stand on that side of Harry. You'll be out of my way, but you'll still have a good view of the monitor." They hastily obeyed. When she reached his side Hermione took Harry's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He didn't let go when she released the pressure. In truth, he was feeling a little nervous.

Madame Pomfrey pulled a small bottle from it's holder in the cart and squirted a bit of cold gel onto Harry's abdomen; right below his navel. He gasped in a breath and Madame Pomfrey chuckled.

"I suppose we could put a warming charm on that." Harry nodded.

"It is a bit cold. A warning at least would be nice." She chuckled again as she retrieve the transducer and began to use it to smear the gel around on his stomach. She reached up with her free hand and turned the machine on.

"How does that thing work with out electricity?" Hermione asked. Madame Pomfrey glanced up at her. "It's a muggle device. I've seen one in my dad's dental office." Madame Pomfrey smiled.

"I'm sure you have, dear. But, not one quite like this. It uses batteries for power, we couldn't by pass that unfortunately, but otherwise, it has been greatly enhanced by the medi-witches and wizards at St. Mungos. This one will give us a much clearer view of the fetus than a regular machine would." She pointed to the screen on the monitor. All they could see at the moment was a blur of color as she searched for the right angle to get a view of the baby. She seemed to find what she was looking for.

"Ah, there we are." She said as she steadied the transducer and pressed a few buttons on the control panel. Suddenly there before them, was a crystal clear color image of the baby. Harry reached a hand up and touched the image on the monitor and then looked down at his stomach.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione breathed. Every detail of the baby was perfectly clear. It had little fingers on its hands and toes on its feet. Dainty little ears stuck out from the sides of its head. As they watched the baby kicked and squirmed a bit and then settled. Harry just stared, transfixed by the image. Hermione looked up at Madame Pomfrey.

"How far along is the baby? Harry said he didn't know." Madame Pomfrey looked down at Harry in surprise.

"Didn't I tell you?" Harry shook his head, not quite trusting his voice at the moment. She smiled down at him. "Twelve weeks. The baby is due January 11th, give or take a few days either way." Harry opened his mouth to ask her a question, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again, his gaze back on the monitor.

"Can you tell what it is?" He asked. "Cho kept saying 'her'." He looked up at Madame Pomfrey. "Can you tell if it's a girl?" Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"Not yet. It's too soon. We won't be able to tell the gender until about the sixteenth week at the earliest." Harry frowned. "Some women know before that though. Mother's intuition I suppose." She smiled at the image on the screen. "If Cho believed it was a girl, then, there's a good chance it will be." Harry touched his hand to the screen again.

"She's amazing." He said quietly. Madame Pomfrey nodded in agreement.

"That she is, Harry." She began to move the transducer around and started pushing buttons on the control panel. It looked to Harry like she was taking measurements of the baby's limbs and head. She eventually pulled the transducer away from his stomach and cleaned it off before handing Harry a wet cloth to wipe the gel off of his stomach. "We won't be giving you anymore ultrasounds until the new school term starts. Given the nature of the machine and the spells on it, this thing can't be shrunken for traveling." She said as she packed away the equipment. Harry sat up as he buttoned his shirt. "Everything looks fine. The baby is developing nicely. Right on schedule. The heart beat is good and strong." Harry nodded and she looked at him. "Have you read the papers I gave you yet?"

"Not yet." He said as finished straightening his clothes. "I haven't had the chance. I'll have plenty of time after I get home." Madame Pomfrey nodded at him.

"Well, you just make sure you get enough to eat and you take it easy. I don't want any emergency calls because you've over exerted yourself." Harry stood from the bed.

"I will, I promise." He glanced back at the machine and rested his hand against his stomach. "Trust me, after what I just saw; I don't want anything to happen to her." Madame Pomfrey motioned for him to sit back down.

"You're not finished yet Mr. Potter. I still need to draw some blood to check your hormone levels." Harry flinched and grimaced. Ron turned completely white.

"I'm out of here with that." He turned to Harry. "Sorry Mate, but I can't stand the sight of blood. I'll wait outside." Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation and Harry just grinned at his friend's retreating form as he sat back down. He turned his head away when Madame Pomfrey took his hand in hers, but instead of sticking his arm as he expected she sliced his finger tip with a small sharp knife. He gasped at the quick pain and turned back to watch what she was doing. She kept squeezing the tip of his finger, letting the blood fill a small glass phial. When she deemed she had enough, she cast a quick healing charm on his finger and capped the phial.

"That's it?" Harry asked. She turned from labeling the sample and gave him a knowing smile. She nodded to him.

"That's it. No needles. With magical testing methods we only need a small blood sample. A knick on the finger suffices." Harry smiled.

"I love magic." He said as he studied the tip of his finger. She chuckled at him. Harry lowered his hand and looked back at the medi-witch. "Professor Dumbledore says we'll be using a portkey to get to my Aunt and Uncle's house. That's not going to hurt the baby is it?" She shook her head.

"No, not at all. In fact, other than train, it's one of the safest ways to travel while pregnant if you're going with someone who's experienced. Aparating is not an option. There's a big danger of leaving the baby behind. Broom is out because of the chance of a fall and flooing is discouraged for the same reason." Harry nodded.

"I always have a bad landing when I use the floo network. I've never once managed to land on my feet." Madame Pomfrey patted his shoulder.

"Well, I'll think you'll be safe enough portkeying with Professor Dumbledore. He's had many years of practice." She walked over to the door and opened it. "It's safe now Mr. Weasley. No blood in sight." He peered cautiously around the door way before going in. "I believe that will be all I need from you today Harry. I'll be by to see you at your Aunt's house next week sometime. If you have any questions before then, just send an owl." She turned a serious look to Harry. "If you start to experience any cramping or bleeding you send Dobby for me immediately, is that understood?" Harry nodded. "That's alright then. Why don't you three head back to your dorms then. Finish your packing. The leaving feast will be starting in an hour or so. You don't want to miss that.

At the feast later that evening, Harry noticed that the Ravenclaw table seemed rather subdued. When Professor Dumbledore announced the news of Cho's death and Peter Pettigrew's capture shortly there after he knew why. At least his name was left out of it. For that he was grateful. He wouldn't have been able to bear every one staring at him. When he glanced at Cho's group of close friends though, he realized it would be common knowledge before too long. They were all looking at him. Of course she would have told her friends where she was going that afternoon. They would realize he was involved somehow. He heaved a sigh and went back to his dinner. As soon as the feast was ended Harry hurried back up to Gryffindor tower. He didn't want to give anyone a chance to question him. He and Ron spent the rest of the evening finishing their packing and went to bed early.

When Harry woke the next morning all of his dorm mates were already up and out of the room. He was grateful for that when he sat up and immediately felt the nausea return full force. He jumped up from his bead and ran to the bathroom. He got to the stall just in time. His eyes watered as he retched, the nausea worse than it had been the day before. He was vaguely aware of a water tap squeaking and water running, but had no control over his stomach and continued to be sick. He jumped slightly when he felt a cool wet cloth being placed on the back of his neck and a hand rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"Shhhh, it's alright Harry." It was Ron. "Just try to catch your breath." Harry rested his sweaty forehead on his arms over the toilet bowl and tried to even out his breathing. Ron continued to rub his back and flipped the cloth over so that the cool side was against Harry's neck. It seemed to help and eventually he was able to sit back from the bowl against the wall of the stall. He looked at his friend as he took the cloth from his neck to wipe his face off.

"This sucks." He said in a gravelly voice. Ron chuckled and shook his head at Harry. He stood and offered his hand.

"Better you than me mate." Harry resisted the urge to give him a rather rude hand gesture and instead took Ron's hand to pull himself up, moving slowly. He didn't want to set off his stomach again. He flushed the toilet and walked out to the row of sinks to rinse his mouth. He made his way back into the dorm room and sat on the edge of his bed, looking up as Ron came back up from the common room with a plate of soda crackers. "Hermione says these should help. She says just to nibble on them." Harry eyed the plate warily and took one of the crackers, hesitantly taking a small bite from it. When his stomach didn't show any signs of rebelling, he slowly finished the cracker. By the time he had emptied the small plate he felt much better.

"Thanks for helping me earlier." He said to Ron as they got dressed and finished their packing. "And remind me to thank Hermione for those crackers. They seemed to do the trick. I feel much better." Ron laughed.

"I think she's been reading. She spouted off a couple of remedies this morning when I told her you were sick." Harry grinned.

"Well, I'm glad she's been reading. Otherwise I'd probably still be in there." He said as he motioned to the bathroom. Ron grinned back as he closed his trunk and surveyed the room.

"Well, I think that's everything. I guess we should get down stairs if you wanna get the chance to say good bye to everyone." Harry closed his trunk with a thump and sat on the top of it.

"Yeah." He said dejectedly. "I wish I could ride the train with everyone else." Ron gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. "Well, No sense pouting I guess." Harry said as he stood and they headed for the door. The common room was packed with students, trunks, and animal cages. Hermione spotted the boys as they came down the stairs and headed over to them.

"Hey Harry, Feel better?" She asked. Harry nodded.

"Much. Thank you for sending up those crackers. They really helped." He looked around the room. "How soon do you guys have to leave?" He asked. Hermione glanced at the watch on her wrist.

"The carriages will be leaving in about 20 minutes." She looked at Harry and before he even realized what was going on he was in her tight embrace. "You take care of yourself this summer Harry." She said in a wavering voice. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "You let Dobby help like he's supposed to, and write if you need anything. Or you can call if your relatives will let you." He nodded to her.

"I will. I promise Hermione. I'm taking it easy this summer. And Dobby will be able to fetch Madame Pomfrey if there are any problems. I'll be alright." She nodded and he drew her in for another quick hug. Fred, George, and Ginny all made their way over to the group and bid their goodbyes.

"I hope we get to see you this summer Harry." George said in a hearty voice. Fred joined in.

"Yeah, I hope so too Harry. But in the mean time, here." He gave Harry a hand full of sweets. "Give the muggles hell for us." Harry grinned as he pocketed the sweets. Ginny immediately held her hand out to him.

"He'll do no such thing." She said as she motioned for him to hand the candies over. "He's going to have a hard enough time with his relatives with out you two making it worse." He grudgingly handed them over, thinking she was probably right. His relatives had never forgiven him for Dudley's tail and he was sure to hear about the Ton Tongue Toffee incident when he got home. Ginny shoved the candies back at her brother and then surprised Harry by giving him a hug. "You take care this summer Harry." She said. "Both of you." She added quietly. He nodded to her as she pulled away.

"I will." She nodded back and went to get her things, the others following. Hermione looked at Harry when he didn't start collecting his belongings.

"Aren't you coming Harry." He shook his head and looked down at the floor. Hermione laid a gentle hand on his arm. "What's wrong Harry?" He looked back up at the group.

"We can just say our goodbyes here." He said. "I don't want to go down stairs until every one has left. Cho's friends know I was with her on Saturday. I'm sure they haven't kept quiet about it either. I don't want every one staring at me and trying to ask questions." Every one nodded seeming to understand. As the common room emptied out they all said their goodbyes to one another and Harry watched sadly as one by one his friends left. He walked over to Hedwig who was hooting softly in her cage. "It'll be alright Hedwig." He said; more to reassure himself than the bird. His stuck his finger through the bars of the cage to pet her and she gave him an affectionate nip. He smiled at her. "I love you too Girl." Just as he stood up from her cage Dobby popped in beside him, making him jump. "Jeez! Dobby! Don't do that! You scared the living daylights out of me." He said; his hand over his heart. He immediately regretted his outburst when Dobby started right into apologizing and naming various punishments he would give himself.

"Dobby. Dobby!" Harry said trying to get the elf's attention. Dobby eventually quieted and looked up at Harry. Harry smiled at him and shook his head. "You didn't really do anything wrong Dobby. You just startled me, that's all." He stooped down so he was on Dobby's level. "I don't want to here any more of this rubbish about punishing yourself alright?" Dobby nodded to him.

"Yes, Dobby understands Harry Potter, sir." He smiled up at Harry. "The headmaster has sent Dobby to tell Harry Potter that it is time to be leaving. Dobby is supposed to help with Harry Potter's things." He snapped his fingers and Harry's trunk immediately shrunk to pocket size. Harry quickly snatched up Hedwig's cage before it to could be shrunk.

"I'll carry Hedwig. She's not heavy." Dobby nodded and handed Harry his miniaturized trunk. Harry stuck it in his pocket and gave the common room one last fond glance before they headed out to meet with the headmaster. As they entered the entrance hall its large wooden doors were open. Harry could just see the last of the carriages disappearing down the road to Hogsmead and looked longingly after them.

"Alright Harry?" The headmaster asked. Harry nodded dejectedly.

"Yes sir. It's just...I miss them already. I have a feeling its going to be a long summer." He looked up at the headmaster as they walked down the steps to the broad drive below. "Professor? Will I still be able to go to the Borrow for the end of summer this year?" The young man asked hopefully. Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"I believe that can be arranged Harry. I'd still like Dobby to stay with you for extra protection though. I'll speak to Molly and Author about it. Alright?" Harry nodded as the older wizard pulled an old tattered quill from one of his pockets. "It's time to go Harry. This quill is our portkey. You know what to do, I believe? Dobby?" Harry nodded as he stepped forward and grasped the tip of the quill between his fingers, feeling very apprehensive. His last portkey trip hadn't turned out so great. He felt Dobby wrap his skinny little arms around his left leg just before he felt that sudden jerk behind his navel that signified their departure. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to panic as he fought flashbacks of Cedric's death and the resurrection of Voldermort. Although it seemed like hours to Harry it was only seconds before he felt the jolt of solid ground under his feet again. He went to his knees as he tried to catch his breath and clear his mind. His eyes popped open as he suddenly realized that portkeys and pregnancy don't mix very well, despite Madame Pomfrey's assurances that it was safe. He glanced quickly at his surroundings and from the cats scattering in all directions correctly assumed that they had portkeyed to Arabella Figg's house. Thank God he knew where the bathroom was. Harry picked himself up from the floor and dashed for the bathroom as his stomach reacted violently to their trip.

Professor Dumbledore and Mrs. Figg were waiting when he finally emerged from the bathroom, pale and a little shaky. He gave them a half-hearted smile and rubbed his rebellious stomach.

"I guess the baby likes portkeys about as much as I do." Professor Dumbledore chuckled and directed Harry down the stairs, Mrs. Figg following in her tatty slippers and curlers. The Headmaster stopped before they headed out side. With a wave of his wand his robes were transfigured into a fairly normal muggle suit. He turned and addressed Mrs. Figg.

"Arabella, many thanks for allowing us to use your home." He said as he gallantly took up her hand and kissed it. She giggled like a school girl and shooed him out the door. Harry followed with a mumbled thanks. As they walked the short distance to the Dursley's Harry felt his dread increasing with every step. They were half way there when Harry realized that Dobby was missing. He stopped and looked around.

"Professor!" He called. Professor Dumbledore stopped and looked at Harry waiting for him to catch up. "Where's Dobby?" Harry asked when he pulled up even with the professor.

"Dobby will be waiting for you in your room at the Dursley's. I sent him on ahead while you were in the bathroom. He couldn't very well walk with us. I believe some of your neighbors might have gossiped. Harry grinned wryly.

"They'll gossip anyway." He said. They walk in silence for a few second more before Professor Dumbledore spoke again.

"I sent a message to your family through muggle mail that we would be arriving this morning." He said as they approached the front walk of the Dursley home. Harry's stomach started to roll slightly as they reached the door. It was thrown open by his Uncle Vernon before they could even ring the bell.

"Hurry up and get in here, before the neighbors see you!" He snarled at them. Professor Dumbledore stepped back slightly to allow Harry to enter before him, and then proceeded to enter slowly himself before Vernon slammed the door closed. Had the Professor still been wearing his robes, they probably would have been caught in the door. "Petunia! They're here!" He bellowed. Aunt Petunia entered from the kitchen and they all went into the living room. Harry stood himself behind the chair that the Professor had sat in. Uncle Vernon glared at the both of them. "Well, get on with it." He prompted. "Why didn't the boy take the train as usual?" Professor Dumbledore fastened a hard look on Uncle Vernon.

"Harry," he said, putting emphasis on the name. "Has had a difficult year at school. Some things have happened that you needed to be made aware of." Uncle Vernon turned his glare on Harry.

"What did you do now Boy? You better not have gotten yourself expelled!" Professor Dumbledore raised his hand when Harry opened his mouth to reply to his uncle.

"Firstly, his name is not 'Boy'. It is Harry. Secondly, he has done nothing wrong." The professor said. "There were a number of attacks on the school this year. Incidents that could not have been foreseen. Some of Harry's friends and classmates were lost in these attacks." Aunt Petunia looked afraid. "Voldemort has returned and has grown bold. We will be spending the summer strengthening the protection wards around the school. As you know Harry is safest here." He paused in his speech. "Due to something that happened after one of the attacks, Harry's health is precarious right now. So his safety is of utmost importance." Uncle Vernon turned a baleful glare on Harry and Aunt Petunia looked to want to get as far from him as possible.

"He better not be bringing some contagious freak illness into this house!" Uncle Vernon hissed. "I'll not have my family exposed to some weird disease!" He looked back at Professor Dumbledore. "If that's the case you can get him out of here right now!" Professor Dumbledore sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"He is not contagious." He said in an exasperated tone. "One of his classmates, a young girl named Cho, was gravely injured in the last attack. Her fiancé had been killed in a previous attack a few days earlier. Harry was with the girl when the attack happened, but she passed away before he was able to get help for her. She was pregnant and, desperate to save her baby's life; she transferred the fetus into the closest available person, which happened to be your nephew." Aunt Petunia looked gob smacked and Uncle Vernon seemed unable to speak as they both stared at Harry.

"You mean he's up the duff!" Came Dudley's incredulous voice from the doorway. He had apparently come downstairs with out anyone hearing. An amazing feat given his size. Professor Dumbledore looked at Dudley with disdain.

"What a lovely, civilized phrase." He said in annoyance. "But, yes. Harry is pregnant. And as I said before, his health is precarious right now." Harry was waiting. It was now time for the Dursleys to find out that he had told on them. "We, at Hogwarts, have always monitored Harry's situation while he is in your care. We are aware of the treatment he normally receives here. We never said anything to Harry about it before because he seemed to prefer to keep quiet on the subject. But we can keep quiet no longer. Harry is not to exert himself this summer. No heavy work in the gardens or clearing out attics or anything of that sort. He needs rest and he needs a well balanced diet. If he is mistreated it may very well result in a miscarriage and if that happens, I assure you, there will be Hell to pay." He said. Uncle Vernon was livid. His face a dark reddish purple in his anger.

"How dare you! How dare you come into my home and threaten me! That boy has always received the treatment he deserves, freak that he is." He bellowed. A deadly quiet settled on the room as Professor Dumbledore fixed a baleful glare on uncle Vernon. He stood up and seemed to fill the room as he did so. Even Harry was a bit frightened of the imposing figure he presented. Aunt Petunia let out a squeak of fear and Dudley hurried to her side with a whimpered 'mummy'. Uncle Vernon cringed back in his seat as Professor Dumbledore leaned closer to him.

"Harry is a very brave boy who has endured much in his short life. He deserves nothing less than to be treated with kindness and to be loved. I realize that love is far too much to expect from people such as yourselves and asking for kindness is even a bit much to expect, but, he will be treated with civility form this day forward." Dumbledore said in a quiet voice. His eyes were like ice as he stared at Uncle Vernon who had grown pale and even seemed to be shaking slightly. "Do I make myself clear Dursley?" Uncle Vernon's mouth opened and closed a few times as he struggled to produce sound.

"Perfectly." He finally managed to croak out. Professor Dumbledore turned to look at Aunt Petunia and Dudley. Aunt Petunia squeaked once again.

"And you?" The Headmaster asked. "Is it clear to the two of you as well?" Dudley nodded furiously and Aunt Petunia quickly followed suit. The Professor looked at Harry who was grinning form ear to ear while blinking back wetness from the things the Professor had said about him. "Splendid." He said as the twinkle returned to his eyes and warmth seemed to seep back into the room. "Well" He said as he resumed his seat. "Perhaps some tea while we discuss Harry's care for the summer then?" He looked at Aunt Petunia.

"I'll get it.!" She said in a strangled voice as she fled the room. As Harry took a seat on the sofa he smiled. This was a day he never wanted to forget.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I own nothing but the plot. Story is Mpreg but not slash. Contains spoilers for GoF and is AU from the end of GoF on. And on we go :D

Harry couldn't believe how well things had gone with his relatives. Needless to say, uncle Vernon was not happy about having Dobby in his house. However he was unwilling to risk Professor Dumbledore's ire again, so he conceded. As long as Dobby stayed out of site that is. Aunt Petunia nearly fainted at her first site of the little creature. Dobby had taken to hiding behind Harry's legs at his introduction, but when the headmaster stated that Dobby was there to help protect Harry, the little elf stood as tall as he could and moved to Harry's side. They had all agreed that Wednesdays would be the best day for Madame Pomfrey to conduct her visits, as Aunt Petunia didn't have any social groups on that day. They didn't want her popping in during a garden club meeting or anything. Professor Dumbledore had stayed until Harry was settled in his room and then had bid him farewell, promising to contact Harry after speaking to the baby's grandparents.

Harry was watching Dobby happily bounce around on his new elf size bed that was set in the corner of the room when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"It's open." He said. The door swung open and Dudley stood there leaning against the frame. He looked in surprise at the elf jumping on the little bed and then back at Harry. Harry just shrugged and smiled. "He's never had his own bed before." Dudley gave the strange elf one last look and turned back to Harry.

"Mum says dinner is almost ready." He heaved himself away from the frame and thudded his way back down the steps. Harry walked over to Dobby's bed, where the elf was now busy smoothing out the mussed blankets.

"Dobby, it's time to eat." He knelt down next to the happy elf. "Just so you know, I doubt Uncle Vernon will allow you to eat at the table." Dobby gave him a surprised look.

"House elves don't eat with people, Harry Potter, sir. We eats in the kitchen." He shook his head. "Harry Potter is a great wizard indeed to want to share a table with an elf, sir." Harry just chuckled and stood up.

"Come on, let's go get some dinner." Dobby took Harry's hand and they headed down the steps. When they reached the kitchen Aunt Petunia gave a shriek that was muffled only slightly by the dish towel she had been wiping her hands on. Uncle Vernon turned to see what the commotion was about.

"What is that creature doing down here!" He demanded. "I told you to keep it out of site!" Harry turned to address at his uncle.

"His name is Dobby uncle Vernon." He said defiantly. "And we came down to get some dinner. Dobby needs to eat too you know." Vernon glared at the pair. "Don't worry though; he doesn't expect to be sitting at the table." Uncle Vernon just grunted and headed for his seat. Harry went to the cupboard and pulled down a small plate for Dobby. He put a helping of the meat, vegetables, and pasta that Aunt Petunia was serving on the plate, grabbed a fork from the drawer and handed them to Dobby. He turned back to the cupboard for a small glass and filled it with lemonade from the pitcher on the counter. "Here you are Dobby. You can go back up to our room if you'd like." He gave it to Dobby, who smiled and thanked him and then went over to seat himself on the bottom step of the staircase. He was supposed to keep an eye on Harry Potter and he meant to do so. Harry smiled at the elf, sitting on the step, kicking his feet and humming to himself as he began to eat.

Dinner progressed uneventfully after that. After wards Harry helped to clear the table. He was gathering the glasses when he heard his aunt gasp. He turned to see Dobby standing in front of her.

"Dobby can do that, Miss." He said in his squeaky voice. Aunt Petunia glanced fearfully over at Harry. He chuckled at her.

"He's not going to hurt you Aunt Petunia. He just wants to help. Dobby is a House Elf. He's meant to be doing the house work." Harry glanced down at Dobby. "It's probably strange for him to watch people doing the work while he sits idly by." Aunt Petunia seemed to relax, slightly. She looked back at Dobby.

"It won't break anything, will it?" She asked. Harry sighed.

"No, Aunt Petunia, HE is very good at his job." Aunt Petunia gave a curt nod, took off her apron and left the kitchen. Dobby grinned from ear to ear and with a snap of his fingers the sink started to fill and dishes started floating toward the sudsy water. The door to the kitchen swung open and Dudley walked in only to run right back out, yelping, when a plate went floating past his head. Harry outright laughed. More than he had in awhile. When he got control of himself, he told Dobby he was heading up to get ready for bed. Dobby nodded and went back to his cleaning. As Harry settled into his bed that night, his stomach full and listening to Dobby's slight snores across from him, he thought that perhaps this summer would be okay.

The next couple of days seemed to fall into a sort of pattern. Harry would wake nauseous, spend his day being mostly bored and doing his summer homework. Aunt Petunia had given dish duty over to Dobby completely. Harry knew it wouldn't be long before Dobby started picking up other chores as well. His first home visit by Madame Pomfrey had gone well. Harry had gained a kilo or two despite the awful morning sickness, and Madame Pomfrey said that the baby was doing well.

His second week home seemed to be going much the same as the first. Harry was bored. He had already finished all of his summer work and had written to Ron and Hermione, letting them know that things were going well and that Harry would hopefully be coming to the Burrow at some point. Now he had nothing else to fill the time with. He looked out the window of his bedroom and saw his aunt weeding her garden. He pulled on his trainers and went out in the yard.

"Aunt Petunia? Can I help?" He asked. His aunt straightened up and turned to look at him, wiping the sweat off of her brow.

"You're not to be doing gardening work and such, remember?" She said with just a trace of sarcasm as she bent back down to her work. Harry heaved a sigh.

"I know I'm not, but I'm so bored." Harry complained. "I'll just help for a little while. I'll take it easy and I'll stop if I start to get tired. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey didn't mean I couldn't do ANY work. She just wants me to take it easy." Petunia puffed a strand of hair from her face.

"Fine, you can work on the squash patch, over there." She said, pointing with her garden shears. "My garden club is coming tomorrow, so I really could use the help." Harry never thought he'd see the day that he would be happy to be weeding the garden. About an hour or so later Harry was starting to feel some strain in his back from bending over to pick the weeds out of the bristly pumpkin vines. He sat up straight and stretched his back. He looked at his aunt and saw her still hard at work on her flower beds. Feeling thirsty, Harry stood and headed for the house. He poured two glasses of lemonade and went back out to offer one to his aunt.

"Aunt Petunia...Are you thirsty? I brought you a glass of lemonade." She squinted up at Harry with surprise. Then looked at the glass in his hand.

"Thank you." She said hesitantly, taking one of the glasses from him. She sat back and surveyed her work. She took a sip of her lemonade and glanced at her watch giving a little groan. "Oh Lord." She said. "Vernon's going to be home soon and I still haven't started dinner." She looked back at her garden. "I'm never going to get this all finished for tomorrow."

"Dobby can make dinner if you want. I still feel fine, so I can help out here for a while yet. Just tell Dobby what you want and he'll have it ready in no time." His aunt looked skeptical. "Really. He's a very good cook. Most house elves are." Harry insisted. Petunia looked at her garden and sighed.

"Alright. We'll give it a try. But if Vernon doesn't like his cooking I'm blaming it on you." Harry would have laughed had he not known she was serious. He rolled his eyes and followed his aunt back to the house. When they got into the kitchen Harry called for Dobby. A few seconds later they could hear him scrambling down the steps.

"Dobby, would you be willing to make dinner for Aunt Petunia tonight? She's still got a lot of gardening work to do and could use the help." Harry asked the elf once he had skidded to a stop in front of them. Dobby's face split into a wide grin.

"Dobby would be happy to make dinner for Harry Potter's family. You tell Dobby what you want and it will be ready in one hour." He said, holding up a knobby finger. Harry headed back out to the garden leaving his aunt to give Dobby the dinner menu. Harry knew Dobby had to be bored. He was sure the elf was used to doing much more work at the school. He sat down at a new place in the garden and went back to the mindless task of pulling out the weeds.

Forty-five minutes later Aunt Petunia got up and went to check on Dobby's progress. Harry decided that he'd had enough of gardening for the day and followed her in to wash up for dinner. When he walked through the door he nearly collided with his aunt who was just standing there and staring. Dobby had a feast set out on the table, and it smelled wonderful. There was a lovely roast of beef with creamy gravy, a bowl mounded with mashed potatoes, a large bowl of salad, steaming rolls with butter.

"Oh my." Was all aunt Petunia managed to say. Harry heard a car pull up in the drive. Uncle Vernon was home. She jolted into motion. "I'm a mess." Harry heard her mutter as she all but ran up the steps. As Harry was passing the table he noticed a glass pitcher of an orange tinted juice. He quickly went over to smell it. Pumpkin Juice.

"Dobby!" He called. Dobby came scrambling into the kitchen.

"Yes?" He queried. Harry took the pitcher form the table and gave it to the elf.

"Dinner looks wonderful Dobby, but I don't think my family will like pumpkin juice. Can you change this to ice water really quick?" Dobby nodded and snapped his fingers. The juice was instantly replaced with water and crystal clear ice cubes. "Thank you." Harry said as he placed the pitcher back on the table. He then continued on to wash up in the laundry room.

Dinner was a great success, although Uncle Vernon couldn't figure out why his wife got a little miffed when he said that it was the best roast she had ever made. Harry had snorted into his water glass when Uncle Vernon said it. Dobby just sat on his step, kicking his feet and humming as always.

As Harry was getting ready for bed that night he noticed that he was going to have to go to the next notch on his belt, although the pants themselves, having been Dudley's, would probably fit for many months to come. Harry undid the belt and rubbed at the red dent it left in his skin. As he rubbed his waist he noticed that his lower abdomen seemed a little harder than the rest of his stomach. He kicked off his trousers and walked over to the mirror mounted on the back of his door. He lowered his boxers so they rested on his hips and pulled up his over sized shirt. He didn't look any different. He turned sideways and looked at his profile. He thought, maybe, he looked a little thicker around the middle, but nothing really noticeable. When he sucked in his stomach however, he could see it. A slight, gentle curve that refused to be sucked in with the rest. He ran his hand lightly over it and smiled slightly.

"Hi baby." He said quietly. He sighed and blinked some wetness from his eyes. Faced with visible proof of the baby a lot of his uncertainties came flooding back. He tried to push them away as Dobby entered the room and automatically went about picking up Harry's discarded clothing. After putting the clothing away Dobby went to his little bed, sat down, and just seemed to pass out, falling sprawled on the mattress. Harry chuckled as he wiped the rest of the wetness from his eyes. Their first night of sharing a room Harry had been very worried when Dobby fell asleep in this manner. But when it happened every night there after he decided it must be normal, and now found it funny to witness. He crawled into his own bed, turned off the light and snuggled in, unconsciously resting a hand on his belly.

He was dreaming. A bloodied Cho and vacant eyed Cedric were watching as he tried to protect a small bundle from the Death eaters that surrounded him, he woke with a jolt and a gasp when Voldemort entered the circle. He threw back his covers and ran for the bathroom as he felt the previous night's dinner trying to flush back up his throat. After loosing what was left in his stomach, he still felt really nauseous, which was unusual. Normally it went away for the most part after he got sick, but not this time. He rose shakily to his feet and leaned against the sink. Turning on the water he splashed some over his face and rinsed out his mouth. His stomach was still rolling slightly but he thought he was safe to leave the bathroom. He went back to his room and got dressed and went down to see if his aunt had any crackers in the cupboards.

When Harry entered the kitchen he was surprised to see Aunt Petunia already up. The kitchen smelled of baking cookies, which did little to help his stomach. He swallowed hard.

"Aunt Petunia?" She turned and looked at him, her eye brows rising at the pale face he presented. "Do you have any crackers? My stomach is really upset this morning." Her face seemed to soften slightly as she nodded.

"They're over in the pantry." She said as she turned and grabbed the tea kettle off of the stove. Harry found the box of crackers and returned to see his aunt rummaging through her tea cabinet. She found the box she was looking for and set it on the counter next to the teacup already sitting there. Harry sat at the table and pulled a cracker out of the box. He nibbled at a corner of the cracker and felt the burning in his throat increase. He let out a shaky breath and rested his head on top of his folded arms on the table. The cracker trick wasn't working this time. He tried another little bite only to drop the cracker onto the table and rush for the bathroom beside the kitchen, his hand clamped over his mouth. He wished Ron was there to put a cool cloth on his neck and to rub his back. He wished Hermione was there. He was sure she probably knew ever remedy there was for morning sickness by now.

When he was able to rise to his feet again, he took a wash cloth from the rack and wet it. He held the cool cloth to his red face and sighed. It felt wonderful. He could here the tea kettle start to whistle in the kitchen and decided to give the crackers another try. He sat back in his seat at the table and warily picked up another thin wafer. He was surprised when Aunt Petunia set a cup of tea down beside his pack of crackers. He looked up at her.

"It's Ginger tea." She said. "It should help your stomach to settle. It was the only thing that worked for me when I was carrying Dudley." Harry picked up the cup and sniffed the tea. It's smelled good. Just slightly spicy. He looked back up at his aunt.

"Thank you." She gave him a single nod of acknowledgment and went back to her cookies. Harry was a little baffled. That was the first time he could remember his aunt doing anything for him out of nothing more than kindness.

Madame Pomfrey came for her next visit the day after Aunt Petunia's garden party accompanied by Professor Dumbledore. Aunt Petunia told them that Harry had just recently woke up and that he was still in the bathroom. Without another word she left them standing in the entryway and disappeared into the kitchen. Poppy looked at the headmaster, rolled her eyes, and went in to seat herself in the living room. The whistle of a tea kettle was heard just before Harry made an appearance in the living room doorway. He was pale and his eyes were rimmed in red. Madame Pomfrey was a little worried.

"Goodness Harry! Are you alright?" She asked as she got to her feet and hurried over to him. Harry walked away from her and plopped himself down in a chair before replying.

"Yeah, I'm okay. The morning sickness has just been pretty bad the last couple of days. I've been having nightmares, and it seems to be worse when I wake up that way." Madame Pomfrey nodded as she knelt beside his chair and rested a hand on his forehead.

"Yes, I image the anxiety could make it worse. Is it bad enough for you to want to try an anti-nausea potion?" She had moved from feeling his forehead to holding his wrist to check his pulse. "I'd prefer not use them if possible, but you need to be able to keep food down as well." Harry thought about it for a second.

"Why would you prefer not to use them?" He asked just as his aunt came into the room. She was carrying a tea cup, which she proceeded to set down on the table next to Harry. He looked at it, a little surprised that she had made it for him again. "Ginger?" He questioned. She nodded and turned to leave the room. "Thank you." Harry said. She stopped at the door way.

"Your welcome." She said with out turning around and continued on into the kitchen. Poppy and the Professor both looked very surprised. Harry chuckled.

"It surprised me too when she made it for me yesterday. It's ginger tea. She said it was the only thing that helped her when she was carrying Dudley. It does seem to help. At least it did yesterday." Madame Pomfrey took the cup from him and sniffed the tea. She nodded, seeming to be satisfied with the contents and gave it back to him. He gratefully started sipping it. "Now, why are you reluctant to use anti-nausea potions?"

"Well" Poppy said. "Those potions can cause a small decrease in the hormones that your body releases to sustain the pregnancy. In a woman that wouldn't really be too much of a problem, but given the nature of this pregnancy, your hormone levels are already on the low side. If they get to low, then the chances of a miscarriage are pretty high." She saw Harry start to shake his head.

"No potions then. I'll just deal with it and live on ginger tea." Madame Pomfrey smiled at him.

"Very well, then. Shall we go upstairs for the rest of your exam?" Harry nodded and stood, clutching his cup of tea. He led the way to his room and held the door for Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore to enter. Madame Pomfrey conjured a screen for privacy around Harry's bed and Professor Dumbledore transfigured one of Dudley's broken toys into a chair worthy of relaxing in. Before he disappeared behind the screen Harry saw the Headmaster lean back in his arm chair and close his eyes for a rest. He smiled as he sat on his bed and faced Madame Pomfrey.

"So, Harry, are you having any problems aside from the nausea?" She asked him as she gestured for him to lie down. "Any swelling, bleeding or cramping?" Harry shook his head.

"No. Other than the morning sickness the only thing bothering me is that I'm extremely bored. I actually voluntarily helped Aunt Petunia in her garden the other day." He saw her getting ready to scold him and quickly headed her off. "I only did a little bit of weeding. No digging or anything like that. And I stopped when I started getting tired. Don't worry; I'm not going to over do it." She pressed her lips together to keep in her worried comments and nodded her head.

"Alright. I'll trust your judgment on it Harry. Anything else to tell me?" Harry smiled and nodded his head while he unfastened his belt and pushed his pants to his hips.

"I think I'm beginning to show a bit." He said as he pulled up his shirt. Madame Pomfrey laid a hand on his belly and smiled back at him. She palpitated the area for a bit getting a feel of how much the uterus was expanding. "I believe we'll be able to start keeping measurements on your next visit." She said.

"Measurements?" Harry queried. "What's that for?" She finished making notes in the chart that she had started for him before answering.

"We measure the fundus height of the uterus to help track the baby's growth. The 'fundus height' is the medical term for how far the uterus has risen above the pubic bone." She patted his belly. "This isn't quite enough to measure yet. Usually around sixteen weeks is when you can start keeping track." Harry looked down at his stomach.

"What should the measurements be?" He asked as he pulled his shirt back down. Madame Pomfrey pulled a cloth tape measure from her bag and showed it to him.

"We measure with that. You place the end on the pubic bone and stretch it up over the belly to where you can feel the very top of the uterus. It should measure in centimeters the same as the pregnancy does in weeks." Harry gave her a confused look so she clarified it for him. "If the pregnancy is twenty weeks along, then I should get a measurement of right around twenty centimeters. It varies of course. Not every one is going to measure exactly as they should, but it should be in the general area." He handed the tape measure back to her. She packed it away and pulled out her wand.

"Well, everything looks good, so far. We'll just have a listen to the heartbeat yet and get your weight and then we'll be finished. She held her wand above him and spoke the 'audire' spell. Harry again reveled in the strong steady beat of the baby's heart, thankful that it sounded normal. Madame Pomfrey ended the spell and went right into her next one; One to transfigure another toy into an accurate scale. She had Harry step onto it and the dial spun around to land on forty-eight kilograms. Madame Pomfrey nodded in approval. "Well done Harry. That's a gain of four kilos since you left school."

"I don't know how I'm gaining weight with this stupid morning sickness." Harry complained as he rubbed his slightly queasy stomach. Madame Pomfrey handed his tea back to him and conjured a plate of toast.

"Here. Try to eat something. An empty stomach will make the nausea worse." Harry grimaced and picked up a slice of toast. Despite the faces he made, the combination of tea and toast did manage to get rid of the rest of the nausea. Madame Pomfrey jotted down the rest of her notes, banished the privacy screen, and returned the scale to its original state. Professor Dumbledore was sitting waiting in his chair, eyes twinkling as usual. Madame Pomfrey finished packing up her bag. "Well Harry, this has been a good check up. Keep doing what you're doing, but remember, no exerting yourself." Harry nodded in response.

"I won't forget. Thanks for coming Madame Pomfrey." Harry sat back on his bed as Poppy headed for the door.

"Well, Albus, I'm off. I'll see you back at the school." Professor Dumbledore nodded and rose to open the door for her. Once she was gone he walked over and sat next to Harry. Harry picked nervously at his blanket and looked at the headmaster.

"You talked to her grandparent's?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer. Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Yes Harry, I did. I talked to both Cho and Cedric's parents. Harry..." He waited for Harry to look at him. "Neither of them wishes to take the baby." Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. He couldn't believe that they didn't want her.

"What?" He said. "How can they not want her? She's their grand-daughter." He rose to his feet and started to pace, a hand coming up to rest on his abdomen. Professor Dumbledore nodded his head.

"They know that Harry. They never approved of the relationship that their children were in. Neither of them is willing to take responsibility for what they deem their children's 'mistakes'." Harry sat back down, tears starting to build in his eyes.

"So I have to?" He asked as he looked at the professor. Professor Dumbledore laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry looked away and swiped angrily at his eyes. "I didn't ask for this. It's not fair." He said in a soft voice.

"Harry, you still have options open. It's not too late for Madame Pomfrey to terminate if you wish." Professor Dumbledore said. Harry jumped up and started pacing again, shaking his head.

"I can't do that. I just can't. She didn't ask for this anymore than I did." He took a deep breath and wiped his face. "I guess that leaves me with keeping her myself or finding some one else to take her." He said in a quiet voice, thinking about both options. Professor Dumbledore rose and pulled Harry into a hug. A rare thing for the Professor to do. Harry relaxed into it. The headmaster looked down at the boy who had been through so much, and been forced to grow up much to fast. He tightened his arms.

"Whatever you decide, Harry, know that you're not alone in this." He said. He felt the boy return the hug and nod silently. Harry pulled away after a few moments and wiped at his damp cheeks. "There's still plenty of time for you to decide what you want to do Harry. You don't need to make a decision right now." The boy heaved a sigh and nodded his head again. The headmaster motioned to his bed. "Why don't you rest Harry? I can see myself out." He headed for the door as Harry lay down on the bed. He turned back to Harry before leaving the room. "And I mean rest. Not lying there and fretting your self into another upset stomach." Harry smiled at him.

"Yes sir. Just rest, no thinking." Dumbledore smiled back and closed the door, vanishing from sight.

Harry didn't know how long he had slept for when he woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. The door was thrown open and Dudley stepped in to the room just as Harry was sitting up.

"Dinner's ready." He grumbled before proceeding down the stairs. Harry untangled himself from his blanket and rose slowly to his feet, hoping to avoid the sick feeling that came with standing up too fast. He was surprised that he had actually been able to fall asleep, but glad. He felt much better.

After dinner Harry went out to sit in the gazebo his aunt had in the garden. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the thought that the baby's grandparents didn't want her. He was sitting on a bench leaning against the railing, his hand absent mindedly rubbing over the little bump in his belly, when he heard grass crunching behind him. He turned to see Dudley standing behind him and sighed in annoyance.

"What?" He said as he turned back to the sunset he'd been watching. He heard Dudley come up and lean on the rail from the outside.

"Mum said your teacher was here today." Harry nodded. "She said he told her that nobody wants that baby." Harry tensed, his hand stopping its motion on his belly. Dudley continued when he didn't get a response form Harry. "Are you keeping it?" He asked. Harry turned to glare his cousin.

"She is wanted." He said defiantly. "Her parent's loved her and wanted her. I'd love to keep her. I just don't know how I could." He said; his voice going from harsh to soft as he realized the truth of his words. He did want her. He loved her already and he didn't know if he would be able to give her up. But at the same time, she would never be safe with him. Even now she was only as safe as he was. One lucky shot by Voldemort and they'd both be dead. "Just leave me alone Dudley." He said as he stood up and headed for the house. He was too tired to think anymore. He just wanted to go to bed.

Harry spent the next couple of weeks sequestered in the relative safety of the Dursley house as July rolled into August. After the revelation he'd had while talking to Dudley, he was afraid to leave the house. Any other summer he'd have been wandering the streets of Surrey to ease his boredom. Now, he just wanted to make sure that the baby was safe. He wrote to Ron and Hermione on occasion and had received his normal birthday treats from them. He had enjoyed the sweets from Mrs. Weasley a little more than he should have. His stomach told him that the following morning. He helped his aunt with some of the easier house hold chores and avoided his uncle and Dudley as much as possible. As the weeks went by and Harry's little bump became more noticeable, he'd catch Dudley staring at his belly when ever they were in the same room. It unnerved him. His uncle just curled up his lip in what Harry assumed was disgust whenever they saw each other, so he did his best to steer clear of them both.

Aunt Petunia on the other hand was like a whole different person. It had all started with the Ginger Tea. Harry was surprised by that in it's self, but as they worked together in her flowerbeds or folded laundry, she started striking up conversations with him. It seemed that magic was no longer a taboo subject for her and she questioned Harry openly about what his school was like and what kind of things he was learning. There had even been an occasion or two where laughter had been shared. Harry was surprised but pleased with the change. He had the opportunity to ask her about it one dreary day as they sat folding laundry in front of the telly. Dudley was out with his usual dunder headed crew and uncle Vernon was at work.

"Aunt Petunia, can I ask you a question." Harry said as he placed a folded shirt in the basket. She looked at him.

"I suppose." She said as she pulled another pair of huge pants from the pile to be folded. Harry pulled out another shirt and laid it across his lap, smoothing out some of the wrinkles. He looked at his aunt hesitantly.

"What made you change your mind about me this summer?" He asked. She looked up at him and then back down at the pants she was folding.

"Truthfully?' She said to Harry. He nodded. "I guess I just realized that I had judged you unfairly." She said with a small smile of apology. "I let your uncle dictate how you should be treated instead of getting involved my self. I never really got the chance to know you." She paused as she placed the folded pants into the basket. "Seems I'm getting the chance this year. That baby helped. It opened my eyes to the kind of person you really are." She looked at Harry. "You're a very brave young man Harry. I don't think I know of any boy your age that would have done what you are. They would have all jumped at the first possible chance to get rid of that baby, your cousin included." She paused as she went back to folding her laundry. "I lost a baby once, before we had Dudley. I was in my fourth month. I can understand a little how that girl felt when she thought her baby would die. You let her go in peace, knowing her baby was going to be okay." Harry looked at his aunt and blinked his stinging watery eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said. "About the other baby, I mean. I'm sorry you lost it. It would have been nice to have another cousin." Aunt Petunia smiled and sighed.

"It was a long time ago Harry. I still think about her every once in a while, but it's just wistful thinking." She folded the last shirt and left to put the folded articles away. Harry sat back on the sofa and looked down at his bump. He smoothed his hands over the small curve and smiled.

"You stay right where you are." He said to the baby inside. "I don't think I could bear to lose you now."

Harry received another letter from Ron a few days later. He was finally going to the Burrow. He was beginning to think they had forgotten about him coming. Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore must have remembered Harry's last incident with a portkey, because the letter said that Mr. Weasley would be there with the car to pick Harry up on the morning of the 8th. He announced the arrangements to his relatives that night at dinner.

"I got a letter from my friend, Ron." He said as they started to serve themselves the ham dinner that Dobby had created. Aunt Petunia looked up in interest but his uncle and Dudley just kept dishing up their food. His uncle had apparently heard him though.

"What of it?" He said, in growled voice. Harry placed some potatoes on his plate before he replied.

"I'll be leaving on Sunday. Mr. Weasley will be here in the morning to take me to their house." Dudley blanched white at the name, and Uncle Vernon looked up to glare at Harry. "Don't worry," Harry said. "He'll be alone and he's coming by car. I can't use the fireplace right now, and portkeys set off my nausea." Uncle Vernon just grunted.

"Why can't you use the fireplace?" Dudley asked. Harry turned to look at him, surprised at the question. Uncle Vernon turned the glare usually reserved for Harry on to his son. How dare he show an interest. Dudley just shrugged. "I just wanna know." He said. Harry swallowed the food he had in his mouth.

"I've only used the Floo network a couple of times and I always seem to fall out of it at the other end. If I had a bad landing now, it could hurt the baby." Dudley's eyes traveled down to Harry's belly.

"Oh." Was all he said. Harry blushed slightly at the scrutiny and went back to his dinner.

The morning of the eighth dawned sticky and hot. Harry was glad that he wasn't at the end of the pregnancy in this heat. It was bad enough at four months. It actually made him feel light headed at times.

He had packed his trunk the night before and there for was in no hurry to get out of bed. He sighed. His morning sickness had been a little better lately, but he knew he'd have to eat and have his tea soon or he'd be spending half the morning in the bathroom worshipping the porcelain god. He threw back his blanket and slowly sat up before pushing himself to his feet and scuffing his way out to the bathroom. He'd been noticing that he needed to use the bathroom more often lately. His aunt had laughed when he mentioned it. She said it was because the baby was starting to crowd his bladder and that it was only going to get worse.

Aunt Petunia was at the table having a scone and some tea when Harry pushed his way through the kitchen door.

"There's still hot water in the kettle. I made fresh scones this morning as well. They're in the tin." Harry yawned and nodded as he made his way over to the cupboard to get his Ginger tea. As his tea steeped he lightly buttered one of the fresh scones and took a seat next to his aunt. "When is Mr. Weasley coming for you?" She asked. Harry swallowed his bite of scone.

"Ron's letter said to expect him between nine and ten o'clock. I'm already packed. I just need to throw my pajamas in the trunk once I get dressed." Aunt Petunia nodded as she glanced at Dobby who had just entered the kitchen.

"What about him?" She asked as the little elf set about washing up the breakfast and baking dishes. "I can't imagine that they would chance taking him in the car. What if you're stopped by the police for some reason?" Harry stirred a little sugar into his tea as he answered her.

"Dobby will apparate to the Burrow when I'm ready to leave. I should be safe enough in the car with Mr. Weasley." Harry looked down at his tea as he fiddled with his cup. "I think this will be the first time that I'm a little sad to be leaving here." He said. His aunt looked at him and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I can't say I'll miss Uncle Vernon and Dudley, but, I will miss you." Harry looked up at her and was surprised to see that her eyes were getting misty. "I'm really glad we got to know each other this year Aunt Petunia." She blinked back her tears and nodded. Harry got up and gave his empty cup to Dobby to wash. "I have to go get ready. Mr. Weasley will be here soon." She stood as Harry walked past her seat and he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder. He turned back to her and found himself being pulled into a hug.

"I'll miss you too Harry." Harry felt his own eyes start to sting as he returned her hug. He gave her one last squeeze then all but ran up the stairs to his room.

He was making one last check of his room to make sure that nothing was forgotten when he heard the doorbell ring; and ring; and ring. He chuckled as he heard his aunt holler that she was coming and to be patient. He hurried down the steps just as she was opening the door. She stood with one hand on the door knob and the other on her hip as she scolded Mr. Weasley for his abuse of the bell.

"One ring will do quite nicely you know. People will think you're impatient and rude otherwise." Mr. Weasley blushed almost as red as his hair at the scolding as he quickly snatched the hat off of his head and stammered an apology. Aunt Petunia nodded in reply and stepped aside to allow him in. Mr. Weasley brightened up a bit when he spotted Harry on the stairs.

"Good morning Harry." He said with a big smile. "All ready to go?" Harry smiled in return and nodded.

"We just need to get my trunk. It's in my room." Mr. Weasley followed him up the stairs to his room and shrunk his school trunk for the trip. "I'll just let Hedwig meet us there. Then we can shrink her cage down too." Harry said as he took the owl out of her cage and smoothed his hand over her head. "Go to the Burrow girl." He told her. "I'll see you there." She hooted softly and took off out the window. Mr. Weasley quickly spelled her cage clean, and then shrunk it down as well. Dobby was waiting for them when they got back downstairs to the entry way.

"We're just about ready to go Dobby. You can head to the Burrow awhile if you wish." Harry told the elf. Dobby nodded and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. "Aunt Petunia, we're ready to leave." He called out. She came in from the kitchen carrying a thermos and a bag of scones which she handed to Harry.

"The thermos has some fresh ginger tea in it, just in case the car ride doesn't agree with you." Harry handed the items to Mr. Weasley and turned to embrace his aunt. "You take care of yourself." She said as she hugged him back. "I expect to get pictures of that baby when she comes." She admonished. Harry chuckled.

"I promise I'll send pictures Aunt Petunia. I'll miss you." He pulled away and gave her a quick smile. "Bye." He said and turned to hurry out to the old Ford in the driveway. Mr. Weasley dismissed himself with a nod to Petunia and followed the boy out.

"Alright there Harry?" He asked the boy as he started the car. Harry nodded and rested his head against the window.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He said with a sigh. "It's just that…Aunt Petunia and I finally got to know one another this summer and I really AM going to miss her." About twenty minutes into their trip Harry was very grateful for the tea she had sent. Mr. Weasley had turned onto the bumpy back roads of the countryside and the motion wasn't settling to well with Harry's touchy stomach. The tea helped as long as he was able to sip it, but he soon ran out. When they finally made it to the Burrow about half an hour later Harry was looking quite green and shaking from the effort to control his stomach. The car had barely rolled to a stop before Harry had the door open and was hurrying toward the house. He didn't make it. He dropped to his knees just short of the porch and was sick on the ground. He heard Mr. Weasley holler for his wife.

"Molly! Get out here!" He yelled as he knelt down beside Harry. Mrs. Weasley came out the door scolding him.

"There's no need to shout Arthur, really. What's….Oh my!" She hurried over to her husband and took his place next to Harry. "What happened?" She asked as she began to rub circles over his back.

"The ride over was too bouncy." Her husband replied. "He's been fightin' it for the last half hour or so." Molly shook her head and glanced back down at him, just as Ron came running out of the house. "Ron, you get back inside now, Harry doesn't need an audience." Ron ignored his father and handed his mother a wet cloth.

"Here Mum." He said. "Harry was sick at school too. A wet rag on the back of his neck seems to help." He shot his father an annoyed look as he went back inside. Mrs. Weasley laid the rag on his neck and pulled out her wand to banish the mess he had made so far. Harry had started to sob in between retches and it wasn't helping matters. Mrs. Weasley shushed him as she continued to rub his back.

"It's alright Harry. Just try to calm down a bit. Hush now. It's alright." She kept up her soothing monologue until his shaking began to subside and he was able to relax against her side. She took the cloth off of his neck and handed it to him as she smoothed the hair back off of his sweaty forehead. He covered his face with the cloth and let out a shaky sigh. Mrs. Weasley heard the door open and looked up to see Ron coming down the steps again; this time with a glass of water. She took the glass and handed it to Harry so he could rinse out his mouth. "Ron, could you go make sure Harry's bed is cleared off. I think he'll need to rest a bit before lunch." Ron nodded and ran to do as she asked. "Do you think you can get up now Harry?" Harry nodded.

"As long as we go slowly." He said. "Very slowly." Mrs. Weasley chuckled as she helped him to his feet. "I'm sorry." He said as they made their way up the steps. Mrs. Weasley just gave him an affectionate squeeze.

"Don't be sorry dear." She said to him. "I've been in that position a time or two my self you know. I do have seven children." Harry chuckled. His stomach was starting to feel better but he was exhausted, despite having just gotten out of bed a few hours ago.

Harry grinned sheepishly at the Weasley clan when he entered the kitchen. The three eldest Weasley children were missing but the rest were all there as was Hermione.

"Alright Harry?" She asked as she gave him a hug. Harry groaned.

"Fine, as long as you don't squeeze me." He said as he rubbed at his stomach. She gasped and released him apologizing profusely. "Don't worry about it." He started heading for the steps. "I think I'm gonna go lay down for awhile. I'll see you all at lunch." A chorus of 'see you later' and 'sleep well' followed him up the stairs.

Harry awoke to the sound of a soft voice calling his name and a gentle hand smoothing the hair back from his face. He opened his eyes with a groan to see Ginny Weasley sitting on the edge of his bed with a tea cup in her hand. She smiled when she saw his eyes blink open.

"Hello there Sleepy head." She said as she smoothed his hair back one last time. "Lunch is ready. Mum says you need to eat since you didn't manage to keep your breakfast." She raised the hand with the cup. "She sent this up for you." She scooted back slightly as Harry slowly sat up. He gestured to the cup.

"If that's ginger tea, you're an angel." She laughed as she handed it to him.

"It is. Dad said you were drinking it most of the way here and only got really sick after you ran out of it. So, Mum thought you might like to have some when you woke up." Harry nodded as he sipped at the spicy concoction.

"It's the only thing that helps." He handed the cup back to her as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He closed his eyes and sighed before pushing up to his feet. He was straightening and smoothing his disheveled clothes when he noticed Ginny smiling at him again. "What?" He asked in a wary tone. She gestured toward his stomach.

"You can see your belly when you do that." Harry looked down and blushed. He hastily began fluffing out his shirt which had been smoothed to the slight curve of his abdomen. Ginny chuckled at him.

"Don't be embarrassed." She chided him. "I think it's sweet." She stood and placed a hand on his arm. "I think you're doing a wonderful thing Harry." Then she gave a mischievous little smile. "Wear that belly with pride." She told him giggling. He smiled back at her and swatted her arm for teasing him. "Come on." She said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the stairs, still giggling. "We better get down there before Ron and the twins eat everything." Harry followed, smiling, and shook his head.

"Girls." He muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm tired of typing the disclaimer. See one of the first 5 chapters for it. :D

Harry had been at the Burrow for three days when Madame Pomfrey came for his nineteen week checkup. All eyes turned to the fireplace at the whooshing sound that preceded the medi-witch's entrance.

"Hi Madame Pomfrey." Harry said with a smile after she had stepped gracefully from the hearth. Harry was so glad to see her. Ever since he had arrived at the Weasley residence they had all been treating him like he was made of extremely fragile glass. He wasn't allowed to go up and down the stairs by himself because he might 'fall', he wasn't allowed outside by himself, they wouldn't even let him carry his own dishes to the sink because he wasn't supposed to carry anything or exert himself. Quite frankly, he'd had enough. He was more bored now than he had been with the Dursleys. At least Aunt Petunia had let him help with things. He was hoping Madame Pomfrey could get them to back off a little.

"Hello Harry. How are you today?" She asked as she went to the stove to help herself to some tea.

"I'm fine. There is something I need to talk to you about though." He said as he hastily finished his last few spoonfuls of soup. He sighed in annoyance when his dishes were snatched off of the table before he could even think of moving them himself. "I'll wait for you upstairs." He said as he pushed back from the table. Hermione, who was seated next to him, immediately tried to take his arm to help him stand. "Let go!" He snapped as he shook off her hand. Her mouth dropped open in shock at his outburst as silence fell over the room. Harry looked at them all and sighed before heading to the staircase. He could feel them all watching him as he made his way up the stairs, for once, by himself.

He had only been in the room for a few minutes when Madame Pomfrey came bustling in. She looked at Harry and smiled.

"Have the mood swings started or am I missing something?" Harry snorted slightly at her question. He sat down on his bed and began picking at the covers.

"I don't think its mood swings." He said as he looked up at her. She was surprised to see that he was on the verge of tears. "You have to talk to them Madame Pomfrey. They're driving me crazy! They won't let me do anything….I can't help with any of the chores; I can't take a walk by myself; they won't let me on the stairs by myself; I can't even get up from the bloody table with out someone trying to 'help'." He paused and drew a shaky breath before continuing. "I'm just getting so frustrated and they won't listen to me when I tell them I can do these things myself. It's only been three days and I'm already sick of being treated like an invalid. If they don't back off I'm gonna be a nutter by the time school starts." During the course of his tirade, Harry had gotten to his feet and started pacing the room. Madame Pomfrey stood and took him by the shoulders to stop his pacing. He heaved a sigh and swiped at the tears of frustration that had snuck up on him. Madame Pomfrey dug in her apron pocket and pulled out a hankie.

"I'll talk to them." She said as she handed it to him. "I'm sure they don't realize how over bearing they're being." Harry wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

"Thanks." He said, relieved. Madame Pomfrey led him back to his bed and motioned for him to have a seat.

"I assume that was what you wanted to talk to me about?" Harry nodded as he sat down. "Alright. Well, aside from that, how are you doing?" She asked as she went through the normal routine of checking his vital signs.

"I'm doing alright. The morning sickness seems to be slowly getting better. As long as I have my tea as soon as I get up, and I don't let my stomach go completely empty, I feel fine most of the day." Madame Pomfrey nodded and motioned for him to lie down. "Certain motions and smells still set it off though. Even if I was still allowed on a broom I don't think my stomach would be able to handle it." Madame Pomfrey chuckled at his comment as she gently palpitated his abdomen.

"She's certainly growing, isn't she?" She mused. Harry ran his hand down his belly and smiled as he nodded.

"Yeah, she is. I'll really be showing by the time school starts. It's a good thing our robes are big and loose." Madame Pomfrey raised her wand and cast the audire spell for the baby's heart beat. It sounded just as strong as always and she nodded in satisfaction. Harry watched as she rummaged through her bag and withdrew her tape measure. She placed the end of the tape on his pubic bone and stretched it up over his belly. She nodded again as she marked down the measurement. "How's she doing?" He asked her. They had started keeping the measurements a few weeks earlier.

"Right on track for her. Twenty centimeters. Your actually measuring a little bigger than you should be, but that's most likely because you are a boy. You don't have quite as much pelvic space as a girl would, so she's peeking out there a little quicker." She put the tape measure back in her bag as Harry straightened out his clothes. "Once your back to school we'll be able to get a good look at her with the Ultrasound. Have you felt any movement yet?" Harry shook his head.

"Not yet. Should I be?" He asked; a hint of worry in his voice. Madame Pomfrey shrugged her shoulders.

"Not really. Every pregnancy is different but most mothers usually start to feel movement right around this time. You may have already felt it and not even realized it." She snapped her bag shut and turned back to Harry. "Now, why don't you go wash up that blotchy face of yours and I'll go down and have a chat with the Weasley clan." Harry smiled at her.

"Thanks Madame Pomfrey." They left the room and Harry headed for the bathroom as she headed down stairs. By the time Harry finished up and made his way back down to the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley and Madame Pomfrey were enjoying a cup of tea and chatting with one another. Mrs. Weasley told him that the rest of the kids were out on the porch husking corn for dinner. He stepped out onto the porch and watched for a few seconds before Ginny spotted him. She smiled at him.

"Hi Harry. Do you want to help? " Harry nodded and sat next her as he reached for an ear of corn. He peeled off the husk and looked at Hermione as he picked at the fine silk stuck between the kernels.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier Hermione." Hermione shook her head and her eyes got glassy as she reached for another ear of corn.

"You don't have to be sorry Harry. We're sorry. We didn't realize…I guess it's bad enough having one person being overprotective, much less an entire house full of people. We'll try to back off. Forgive us if it still happens once in a while though? It's just because we care about you." Harry nodded as he reached out to give her hug.

"I guess I can deal with it once in a while. And if I snap at you on occasion, just remember that I'm hormonal." Hermione grinned at him and swatted him on the leg as she sat back down to finish her pile of corn. The rest of the week saw things returning pretty much to normal. Even thought he still caught people keeping an eye on him, they mostly kept their comments to themselves.

The following week saw the country enveloped in a heat wave. Harry tossed and turned on his bed but the sheets just seemed to stick to him and he felt like he was trapped in an oven despite the cooling charms placed on his bed. He sighed in frustration before throwing back the light sheet that covered him and tiptoeing out of the room. He made his way to the kitchen and got a large glass of cold water. He knew his bladder would protest later, but he was parched. After gulping down some of the water, he walked over to a window in hopes of catching a breeze. As he stood there with his eyes closed, he felt it. His eyes popped open and he looked down at his belly placing a tentative hand lightly on the curve. He smiled as he felt it again. It was just a little flutter, but he felt it. He closed his eyes again and placed both hands on his belly, waiting for her to move again.

"Harry?" He jumped slightly and looked over to see a sleep tousled Ginny standing by the sink, a glass of water in her own hand. He had been so intent on the baby that he hadn't even heard her come down. "Are you okay?" She asked as she walked toward him. Harry nodded.

"She moved." He said as he looked back down at his belly. He heard a little squeal from Ginny and smiled as he looked back at her.

"Really!" She asked, her excitement apparent in her voice. "Can I feel?" Harry chuckled.

"It's not that strong yet. It's just like a little flutter on the inside. It'll be a little while before you'll be able to feel it." She looked crestfallen. "I promise though, as soon as it gets strong enough to feel on the outside, you'll be the first one to know." She smiled at him. Harry smiled back and then yawned widely. Her grin widened.

"Well, we should probably both get back to bed. Mom will wake up if we're down here much longer. She always seems to be able to sense when one of her kids is out of bed." Harry nodded and they headed back up the stairs. "Goodnight Harry." Ginny said when they reached her door. She gave him a silly grin then leaned down. "Goodnight baby." She said to his belly. Harry chuckled at her as she ducked into her room, giggling quietly.

Harry delighted in feeling the soft fluttery movements of the baby inside of him. A smile came to his face every time he felt it. But, at the same time, it made his situation all that much harder. There was no way he could deny the love that he now felt for her. She was his baby in every way that truly mattered, but in his mind the only way to keep her safe was to give her away after her birth. Just the thought of it made his heart ache.

It was a hot night again the following week that found Harry back downstairs, unable to sleep. He was sitting in a rocker by the open window, trying not to think about his situation when Dobby found him. The elf had fetched him a glass of water before Harry shooed him away.

Ginny was also finding it hard to sleep and had been lying awake for awhile when she heard someone pass by her door and down the steps. She waited for a while and when they didn't return, decided to investigate. She eased her door open and crept down the steps only to find Dobby perched on a step half way down. The elf looked at Ginny with his big watery eyes and shook his head with a sigh.

"Harry Potter is sad, he is." He said before returning his attention to the kitchen. Ginny continued down the steps, her brow furrowed with concern. She could see him from the landing. He would rock the chair once in a while as his hands continually smoothed over his belly. The moonlight coming in the window played over his tense expression.

"Harry?" She walked over to where he sat. He looked up at her and the sadness she could see in his face surprised her. "What's wrong?" She pulled an ottoman up next to his chair and sat so that she was facing him. He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his hands, resting on his belly.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She could hear a slight tremble in his voice when he spoke. She laid a hand on his arm.

"You can't fool me that easy Harry. I only need to look at your face to know that something's got you upset." She brought her other hand up to clasp his. "You can tell me." She said as she tried to get him to meet her gaze. He took a shaky breath and a tear escaped down his cheek as he looked at her.

"I'm scared Ginny." He admitted with a half sob. She reached up to brush the tears from his cheek.

"Of what Harry? Having the baby?" She smiled gently. "It won't be so bad. Madame Pomfrey will be there. And you can talk to mom. She can tell you what to expect." Harry shook his head.

"That's not it." He said as he laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. Ginny was confused.

"Then what Harry? What are you afraid of?" He looked back at her and she saw his chin tremble as his eyes filled.

"I'm scared that something is going to happen to her. I don't know of a way to keep her safe other than giving her away when she comes." His tears flowed unchecked now. "If Voldemort doesn't kill us both before she's even born, then she'll always be a target afterwards. At least as long as she's with me." He swiped at his tears. "How do I keep her safe from that?" Ginny leaned over to snatch a tissue from the box on a nearby table and sighed as she handed it to him.

"Well, Harry, I don't think he's gonna be able to get to you before she's born. Your pretty well protected right now and we're really the only people who know about the baby, at least until school starts." Ginny took his hand again. "And as for after she's born? Well, we'll just have to try and make sure that somebody gets a chance to kill the bastard, now won't we?" Harry gave a surprised albeit watery chuckle at her choice of words.

"Yeah, I guess we will." He said as he heaved a shaky sigh and tried to smile. "Thanks Ginny." She smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

"You know, all you can do is take things as they come Harry. It's not good for you to keep that stuff bottled up like that." She said as she stood. He nodded. "Any time you need to talk to somebody Harry, just ask. I may not be able to help the situation much, but at least you'll air the worry." He was surprised when she leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Don't stay up to much longer. You need your sleep." She said as she stepped back. He smiled up at her and gave her a mock salute.

"Yes Mam. G'night Ginny." After she had disappeared up to her room, he reached up and touched his forehead where she had kissed him. He gave a cockeyed, half smile and shook his head before pulling himself to his feet and heading up to his own bed.

Harry slowly drifted to consciousness the next morning. He could tell that someone was sitting on the edge of his bed and he could smell the familiar scent of ginger tea. He cracked his eyes open to see Molly Weasley sitting beside him, just barely illuminated by the faint light coming through his window.

"Harry?" Harry groaned and tried to borrow into his pillow. "Harry, it's time to get up." He looked sleepily up at her and she smiled. "I know it's a little early dear, but, Poppy and the Headmaster are here to see you." Harry yawned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Mrs. Weasley handed him the mug of tea.

"Is every thing alright?" He asked after taking a sip. "My appointment with Poppy isn't until tomorrow." She tried to smile as she patted his leg but he could see she was worried.

"The Headmaster will explain it to you, dear. We'll wait for you in the kitchen." As she left the room Harry took a few more sips of his tea as he tried to get his bearings. It was too early. He got up and dressed and finally made it down to the kitchen after a brief detour to the bathroom. Madame Pomfrey looked agitated as she fiddled with the cup in front of her, but the Headmaster gave nothing away. The same smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes as always. A saucer of toast and a bowl of porridge were put in front of him as soon as he sat down at the table. He looked at the adults sitting around him and pushed the food away his appetite gone, replaced by nausea as his nervousness increased.

"Alright, what's going on?" He demanded. The Headmaster was the only one who would meet his gaze. "Voldemort knows that I'm here, doesn't he?" The silence was the only answer he needed. He closed his eyes against the sudden sting in them, his hands smoothing over his belly rhythmically. The motion brought comfort for some reason. He opened his eyes and looked at the group of adults sitting across from him. "What do we do now? What's the next step?" He asked. He'd do whatever he had to, if it meant the baby was safe. Professor Dumbledore spoke up.

"We have a safe house that we'll be moving you and the Weasley family to until the school term starts." Harry nodded.

"What about the Burrow?" He asked with a glance to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Will they still destroy it if we're not here?" He didn't want them to lose their house because of him. Mrs. Weasley shook her head.

"Don't you worry about the house dear. It's just a house. It's the people in it that matter most. The house can be rebuilt if need be." Harry nodded and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"When do we leave?" He asked. Molly stood up beside him.

"I'll go wake the other children now. With any luck, we'll be ready to go by noon." Professor Dumbledore nodded his assent. Harry pushed back from the table and stood with the intent to follow her upstairs when he was stopped by a sudden sharp pain in his side. He hissed a breath in through his teeth and bent over slightly. One hand had gone to the table to support him self while the other immediately went to the source of the pain. Madame Pomfrey jumped to her feet and was by his side within seconds.

"Harry? Tell me what's wrong." Harry drew in a slow breath and let it out just as slowly, wincing slightly as he rubbed at his abdomen.

"I got a sharp pain. Right here." He said as he pressed his fingers lightly to the curve. The pain was down low on the left side of his abdomen. It had been sharp and a slight ache remained but it was fading. Madame Pomfrey had him sit back down as she gently felt around his abdomen.

"Has this happened before?" She asked. Harry shook his head. "It doesn't seem to be a contraction. Your abdomen would be hard and tense if it was. Does it still hurt?" He shook his head again.

"It's faded. It was tender for a few moments, but it seems okay now." He ran his hand lightly back down the curve. "Is she okay?" He asked anxiously. Madame Pomfrey nodded.

"There is a ligament in the abdomen that supports the uterus; it's called the round ligament. Sometimes it will cause a sharp pain if to much stress is put on it. Stand slowly from now on. So that it doesn't pull to much." Harry nodded. "I want you to take it easy this morning. Call Dobby. He and Ron can help you pack your things." She helped him get to his feet slowly, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he remained pain free.

"Thanks." Harry said as he started slowly up the stairs. That pain had scared him. His hands shook slightly as he opened the door to the room he shared with Ron. Ron was still sitting in his bed, blinking and rubbing his eyes when Harry came in and sat gingerly on the edge of his own bed.

"You alright mate?" Ron asked. "You look kinda pale." Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Had a bit of scare down stairs but it's alright." Ron looked worried as he climbed from his own bed and sat beside Harry.

"What happened?" He asked. Harry shrugged as he got back to his feet and walked to the door.

"I had a pain in my belly when I got up from the table. Madame Pomfrey said its fine. Sounds like it's a normal kind of pregnancy pain. Still scared me though." He stuck his head out the door just as Mrs. Weasley was passing form waking the girls. "Have you seen Dobby?" He asked her. "I'm supposed to get him to help with my packing." Mrs. Weasley thought for a second.

"I believe he's in the kitchen packing some things in there. I can send him up if you like." She looked rushed and winded and Harry knew she probably needed Dobby's help much more than he did. He could get Ron to help him. He shook his head.

"That's alright. I can manage." Mrs. Weasley frowned at him and stuck her head around the door frame to look for her son.

"Ron!" Harry snorted in laughter as he heard Ron's head connect with the underside of his bed. He had been reaching for his socks that had some how found their way under it. He came out rubbing his head.

"Bloody hell." He groused. He froze when he heard Harry's amused and somewhat shocked gasp and turned to see his mother standing in the doorway. Before he could even react she had reached out a hand and smacked him up side the head. "Ouch!" he glared at his mother.

"Watch your language." She said in warning tone. Ron rubbed at his head and shot a dirty look at Harry, who was trying his hardest to wipe the amused grin off of his face.

"Sorry mum. You scared me and made me hit my head." Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you'll live. Make sure you help Harry with his packing." She turned to point a warning finger at Harry. "No lifting this morning. Madame Pomfrey's orders." She turned and left the room while hollering at the twins to get a move on. Ron sat down to pull on his troublesome socks as Harry started pulling clothes from his dresser and piling them on the bed. He walked to the closet and started tugging on his and Ron's stacked school trunks. Ron saw him and hollered.

"Oi! You want me getting my ears boxed! Cause that's what'll happen if mum sees you dragging them things around!" He walked over and shooed Harry away from the trunks. He heaved Harry's off of the top and set it beside his bed before dragging his own over to his side of the room. "Did they tell you where we're going to be staying?" Ron asked after a few minutes of quiet packing. Harry shook his head and sat on his bed as he folded a pair of pants.

"No. Dumbledore just said a 'safe house'. They probably want to be careful about saying the actual location." He sighed and pulled some fuzz off of his Weasley sweater. "I just pray that nothing happens to your house after we go." He looked around the room and met Ron's gaze.

"Even if it does, it's not your fault Harry." Harry nodded and looked back down at his sweater. He chuckled and Ron looked at him with an eyebrow raised in question. Harry stood and held the brown and green sweater up against him self. It was obvious that the sweater wouldn't cover the belly much longer. Ron smirked. "Don't think your going to get much use out of that one this year." Harry shook his head in agreement.

"She's gonna need a lot of wool for this years sweater." Harry said with a barely repressed chuckle. Ron laughed and continued his packing. Harry smoothed his hand over the sweater once more before folding it and packing it in the trunk.

Shortly after noon saw most of the Weasley household packed and ready to go, anxiously waiting for the Headmaster to put in his appearance. Harry was curious about how they were going to get to their safe house. So far neither portkeys nor automobile seemed to agree with his stomach. He knew flying was a big no-no right now and he was afraid to try the floo system. What if he fell? He worried his bottom lip as they all sat waiting. Ron and Hermione were sitting together on the sofa, chatting quietly while the twins sat going through a box of supplies for their inventions. Mr. Weasley had left for the ministry right after Professor Dumbledore had left, apologizing to his wife and saying that he had to keep up normal appearances. Mrs. Weasley was still packing up a few last minute things from her kitchen. Harry couldn't help but think that where ever they were going, she seemed to know exactly what to pack and what could be left behind. He looked up as Ginny made her way over to where he sat. She smiled at him and he gave her a half hearted one in return. She sat on the arm of his chair and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Worried?" She asked. Harry nodded his head. Worried was an understatement. His stomach was reacting a bit to his emotional upset. Although not full out nausea, it was protesting enough to make him uncomfortable.

"Do you know how we're getting to this place?" He asked. Ginny shook her head and Harry sighed.

"I would think we'll use the floo network. With all the luggage and stuff that needs to go with us. Unless they shrink it all down. Then we can use a portkey or else apparate." She looked down at Harry as he groaned at the options. "What's wrong?" She asked. Harry just shook his head.

"I hate portkeys." He grumbled. They all looked up as Mrs. Weasley entered the room with one last crate of kitchen supplies. She gave a satisfied look to the pile of crates and trunks and proceeded to start shrinking it all down.

"Every one come grab your trunk and an extra crate or two." She ordered. "We'll be going by floo and we want the connection open for the shortest time possible." Harry walked to the pile of miniaturized items and stuck his trunk and two other crates in his pocket before turning to the older woman.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry said. She was in the process of scolding Fred for not taking his fair share of the load. Harry tried again as Fred stomped to the pile and snatched up the last two items. "Mrs. Weasley?" She turned to Harry with a smile. He looked apprehensively at the large fireplace in the family room. "Is it possible for two people to go through the network together?" Molly furrowed her brow as she thought about it.

"Yes, it's possible. Why do you ask Dear?" She questioned as she laid a hand on his arm. She could tell he was worried about something.

"It's just…every time I've used the floo network I've always had a bad landing on the other side. It didn't really matter before. I'd just pick myself up and go on my way. But, now…" He let the statement trail off as he smoothed a hand down the curve of his belly. "I'm afraid the baby will get hurt if I fall." Molly nodded her head.

"I understand Harry. Professor Dumbledore and Poppy will be here soon. We'll talk it over before we go." Just as she finished that statement two loud cracks were heard from the kitchen. "Speak of the Devil." She said with a smile.

It was decided that Harry would travel through the network with Madame Pomfrey. She was the only one of the group who had traveled double before aside from Molly and the Headmaster himself, and he was apparating out once they had all gone through. They were all lined up before the fireplace waiting to find out where they were going. Professor Dumbledore pulled a slip of parchment out of one of his many pockets and held it up in front of him.

"On this parchment is the location of the safe house you will be staying in. Do not read it out loud. Memorize what it says and hand it to the person next to you." He handed the parchment to Ron who was first in line. Harry watched as every one read the note before handing the slip on. When it reached Harry he dutifully committed the words to his memory.

The headquarters of the Order Of the Phoenix

Are located at number 12

Grimmauld Place

He handed the slip on to Ginny. She handed the paper back to the headmaster who set it aflame with the tip of his wand. Once it had burned out completely he turned back to the crew assembled in front of him.

"When you step into the fire you need only say 'Headquarters' That will get you where we all need to be." He rubbed his hands together as his eyes started twinkling madly. "Very well then! Who's first?"

Ron went first, followed by Hermione then the rest of the Weasley children. Once Ginny had disappeared through the flames, Madame Pomfrey stepped up and took a handful of floo powder. Harry stood beside her in the fireplace. She wrapped her arm securely around his shoulders before tossing the powder down and shouting 'Headquarters'. Harry closed his eyes as they started spinning through the network. He felt the medi-witch's grip tighten around his shoulders and opened his eyes just as they were spit from the fireplace. He stumbled slightly but Madame Pomfrey managed to keep him on his feet. He smiled his thanks as they stepped apart to make room for Mrs. Weasley to come through. She stepped out with a minimum of fuss and began collecting crates and trunks from the children. Harry heard a door creak open as he stood waiting for his trunk to be enlarged and turned to the sound. His mouth dropped open in shocked surprise.

"Sirius!" His Godfather stood before him, looking better than the last time Harry had seen him and grinning widely. Harry quickly crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around the man, who returned the hug just as heartily. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked as Sirius drew back to get a good look at the boy. Sirius smirked at him.

"I live here." He opened his arms in a welcoming fashion. "Welcome to the ancient and noble house of Black." They all chuckled. The house was anything but noble. It was in desperate need of a cleaning and gave off a rather depressing air. Sirius looked at Harry again. "Well, at least it looks like those muggles fed you this summer. You're finally putting on a little weight." He looked up curiously as all of the Weasley children snickered at his comment. Harry blushed and realized that no one had told his God-father about the baby yet. That should be an interesting conversation. Before Harry could respond he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see the Headmaster behind him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Harry, but, could I see you in the kitchen for a moment." Harry nodded and threw a smile to his God-father. He started to worry a bit when he noticed that Sirius's smile had vanished. He fell in step behind Professor Dumbledore, feeling uneasy.

"Have I done something wrong, Professor?" Harry questioned. The headmaster stopped just outside of the swinging door that led to the kitchen. He smiled at the boy, but Harry could see that the usual twinkle wasn't there. The older man shook his head.

"No, Harry, you haven't done anything wrong." He paused. "Your Aunt and cousin are here Harry." Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. "The reason Voldemort knew you were at the Burrow is because your Uncle told him." Harry closed his mouth and tried to swallow, his throat suddenly very dry.

"Is he dead?" He asked in a near whisper. The headmaster nodded. Harry was confused. "How are Aunt Petunia and Dudley still alive?" He could feel a lump forming in his throat. The headmaster rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Apparently your aunt and uncle had an argument and she had left to spend the evening at a friend's house. Dudley had already done the same. When the attack came, your uncle was the only one home. From what I'm told, he did not hesitate to disclose your location. That's why we had to act so quickly." Harry nodded. "Your aunt is in the kitchen. She asked to see you." Harry swallowed again, suddenly afraid to face his Aunt. What if she blamed him for Vernon's death? The Professor gave his shoulder one last squeeze and walked back to the rest of the group.

Harry drew a shaky breath before pushing the door open and entering the kitchen. His aunt sat at the table, staring straight ahead, her eyes rimmed in red. Harry nearly turned and ran from the room. He forced himself to keep walking toward her. She seemed to be unaware of his presence until he actually reached her side and lightly touched her shoulder.

"Aunt Petunia?" She jumped slightly before turning to look at Harry. She looked up at him from her seat. Harry's eyes began to sting, and he found he couldn't fight the tears that came to them. "I'm sorry." He whispered. Petunia's face crumpled as she began to cry. She reached out and pulled Harry to her, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him tightly. Harry let himself cry, as he put a hand on her shoulder and smoothed her hair with the other. He may have hated his uncle, but he never would have wished this pain on his Aunt.

Harry wasn't sure how long they stayed that way before the baby decided to make her presence known. His Aunt was still pressed against his torso when the baby gave its first real kick. Harry gasped slightly and Petunia pulled back and looked at his belly in surprise. She chuckled slightly as she wiped the tears from her face.

"How long has she been doing that?" She questioned. Harry smiled as he placed a hand to the curve to see if she would do it again.

"That was the first time." He said with a wry grin. "She's been fluttering around in there for awhile now, but that was the first real kick." He rubbed the spot she had kicked and smiled at his aunt. "You're the first one to feel her move." Petunia gave a watery smile back and laid her hand on his belly.

"I'm honored." She sat back in her chair with a sigh and wiped the remaining tears from her face. She looked back up at her nephew who was still standing by her side. "I don't blame you for this Harry. You have nothing to be sorry for." She reached up and took his hand, giving it a squeeze and he nodded as he sniffed and wiped his eyes.

"How's Dudley doing?" He asked. Aunt Petunia shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, Harry assumed in the direction of Dudley's room. "He won't talk about it. I don't think he's quite dealt with it yet." She gave Harry an apologetic look. "You might want to avoid him for awhile. I'm afraid his father had quite an influence on him when it comes to dealing with you." Harry nodded. The kitchen door swung open and Ginny peered around the edge.

"Can I come in?" Harry nodded. She came in to stand by his side. Her brow furrowed when she saw that they had both obviously been crying. She rested a hand on Harry's back. "Is everything alright?" She asked with concern.

"Ginny, this is my Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia, Ginny." He said by way of an introduction. "She's Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's youngest" Ginny held out her hand. Petunia looked at it for a second before taking it in her own.

"I'm pleased to meet you." Ginny said. "Harry's been talking our ears off about how he enjoyed being able to spend time with you this summer." Aunt Petunia smiled and blushed a bit.

"Harry's an exceptional young man. I just didn't get the chance to realize it before this summer." She replied. Harry had the good grace to blush himself before resting his hand on his aunt's shoulder. He looked back at Ginny.

"Uncle Vernon was killed by Deatheaters. That's why we had to come here. Aunt Petunia and Dudley are staying here too apparently. Are you going to be here for awhile?" Harry asked her. His aunt nodded.

"They destroyed the house. We've no where else to go." Sirius came into the room just as she made this statement.

"I've already told you Mrs. Dursley, you and your son are welcome to stay here as long as you need to." Petunia nodded and gave him a slightly nervous smile. Sirius turned to Harry. "Poppy's waiting to take you up to your room. She says she might as well do your check up while she's here? Is there something I'm not being told Harry?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I'll tell you later. Can you tell Madame Pomfrey that I'll be right there?" He turned to his aunt as Sirius and Ginny left the room. "Let me know if you need anything. Dobby's here too, so that'll be another familiar face for you." Aunt Petunia chuckled.

"He'll certainly be an improvement over that retched thing I've seen moping around here. Muttering about muggles and mud-bloods. I had half a notion to ring its neck for the nasty look it gave me and Dudley when we arrived." Harry smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before heading back out the door.

Madame Pomfrey led him into the entrance foyer and started up the stairs. Harry stopped, staring in disgust and the macabre scene before him. The walls of the foyer were decorated with plaques, each one bearing what appeared to be the severed head of a house elf. Harry hoped they would be taken down. He didn't want to have to pass by them every time he needed to use the stairs. When they reached the first landing on the stairs, Madame Pomfrey turned to Harry, pointed to a set of ratty curtains on the wall and put her finger to her lips motioning for him to be quiet. He nodded, looked at the curtains and moved to the far side of the landing before continuing up the stairs.

Once they reached the second floor, she led him down the hall and into the third room on the right. They entered the room and Harry saw his and Ron's trunks sitting at the end of two beds that sagged horribly and were surrounded by moth eaten curtains.

"Geez, this place really needs some work." He said as he walked to the bed with his trunk at the end. He swatted the mattress and watched as dust motes swirled around in the hazy light coming from the grimy window. He turned to Madame Pomfrey. "Aren't there any house elves here?" The Medi-witch gave a snort of disdain.

"There's one." She said. "And a more useless thing you never did meet. He was completely loyal to Sirius' mother and seems to have cracked a bit since she passed. His name is Kreacher, and I'm sure he and Dobby will get along just splendidly." She said with a sarcastic tone. Harry grinned at her as she raised her wand and cast a cleaning spell on his bed. She motioned for him to sit down and proceeded to check his vital signs, as she always did. Once she marked them on his chart she told him lie down and pulled up his shirt. She smiled at the belly which was becoming quite pronounced. She began to palpitate his abdomen to check the baby's size and position. "Have the baby's movements gotten any stronger?" She asked. Just then the baby, apparently tired of being pushed around, gave a little kick. She looked up at Harry in surprise. He grinned at her and rested a hand over the spot the baby had kicked.

"Does that answer your question?" He said with a chuckle. Madame Pomfrey just shook her head and started rummaging in her bag.

"When did she start kicking like that?" She asked as she pulled the tape measure from her bag, and pushed the waistband of Harry's pants down just enough to be able to position the end of the strip on his pubic bone.

"She just started this afternoon." Harry replied. He snickered a little. "She kicked Aunt Petunia right in the head. Startled her enough to make her stop crying at least." Madame Pomfrey smiled as she stretched the tape measure up over the increasing mound of his belly. As she marked his measurements down and made notes on the baby's activity, she told Harry about a few quick decisions that had been made while he'd been in with his aunt.

"Your school letters came today. Molly and the other children will be going to Diagon alley tomorrow, but the Headmaster wants you to stay here. He doesn't feel it's safe for you to be out and about right now and I have to agree." Harry nodded grudgingly as he straightened his clothes and sat back up.

"I'm sure Mrs. Weasley can pick out all of my stuff. I still have enough money in my trunk from last year to pay for new things." He sighed as he smoothed his hands over his stomach. "These pants aren't going to fit for much longer. I'm sure she'll know what I'll need better than I would anyway." As he stood from the bed the door to the room opened to admit Dobby. He seemed to be in some sort of a snit, mumbling about filthy layabouts having no pride in a clean house. He didn't see that there was anyone in the room due to the fact that he had fresh bedding in his arms stacked clear to his eyebrows. A mop, bucket, broom and various rags floated through the air behind him. As they watched he precariously balanced the stack of bedding in one arm while he reached out with the other to snatch one of the floating rags out of the air and wipe off the seat of the chair that was next to the door. Apparently satisfied that it was clean enough, he set down his bundle of bedding, and squealed in shock when he caught site of Harry and Poppy.

"Oh! Dobby is so sorry, he is! Dobby didn't know anyone was here. Dobby is so bad! Walking in with out knocking!" Harry knew where this tirade was going. He hurried to the elf's side just as Dobby turned to the wall. Harry placed his hand between the wall and Dobby's head just in time to keep the elf from smacking the two together. He stooped down and took hold of Dobby's shoulders. The little elf raised his arms to protect himself from the blow he thought was coming.

"Dobby!" Harry said as he tightened his grip slightly. The elf looked up at Harry with watery eyes. "It's alright. We're done in here. Believe me; I would be grateful if this room got a good cleaning." Dobby looked at Harry in disbelief.

"Dobby isn't going to be punished?" He asked in a timid voice. Harry gave the elf a stern look.

"Dobby, you have been taking care of me and anyone I consider family for months now. We are not the Malfoys. You won't be hurt by anyone here. You should know that by now." Dobby nodded his head.

"Yes, Dobby knows. Dobby was with the Malfoys for so long, he forgets sometimes. Dobby is safe with Harry Potter. Dobby won't forget again." He gave Harry a watery smile which the boy returned.

"That's better then." He said as he stood up. "Now, do you think you can do something about the condition of that mattress? If I have to spend even one night on that thing, I'll be aching for days." Dobby nodded vigorously and as Harry and Poppy left, set about making his favorite wizard's bedroom livable.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Finally! An update! Sorry it took SOOO long. Life is hectic. See one of the first five chapters for the disclaimer. :D

Harry found his God-father in the large library that the house possessed. He was sitting with his eyes closed behind a huge desk that dominated one end of the room. It would have been beautiful had it not been coated in layer upon layer of dust.

"Sirius?" Harry said as he crossed the room to the desk. "Are you awake?" Sirius' head lifted and he gave the boy a large smile. He stood and came around to the front of the desk to join Harry.

"So….Are you ready to fill me in now?" Sirius asked as he leaned back against the edge of the desk behind them. Harry adopted a similar stance and looked up at the older man.

"I thought someone would have told you." He sighed and crossed his arms in front of him self as he shook his head. "Did you hear about the last attack at the school?" Sirius nodded. "Do you know Cho Chang?" Sirius thought for a moment before nodding.

"Ravenclaw seeker, right?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, she was also engaged to Cedric Diggory." He said as he looked down at the floor. "And pregnant with his baby."

"Pregnant!" Sirius said in surprise. Harry nodded and smiled slightly at the older man's reaction.

"Pregnant." Harry replied. "She was impaled through the chest by a tree branch when Wormtail hit her with a jinx and to make a long story short…She knew she was dying and transferred her baby into the closest available person; me." He looked up at his God-father. "I'm pregnant Sirius." The man's mouth dropped open in shock. He stared at Harry for a minute before he started chuckling.

"Nice try Harry." He said, in between the chuckles. "Seriously, what was Madame Pomfrey checking you for? Were you hurt in the attack?" Harry sighed in frustration as he smoothed his hands down his belly. He smiled when he felt the baby kick again and quickly grabbed Sirius' hand, laying it palm down over the spot she was kicking. Sirius gave Harry a confused look. "What are you doing Harry?" The boy shushed him.

"Shh…just wait." He said. "Come on Sweetie, do it again." He whispered. Sirius started to pull his hand away. Harry pressed it back down, not letting him move.

"Harry…" He cut off his statement with a gasp as he felt a little thump against his palm. "Oh my God." He breathed as he willingly left his hand on the boy's belly. "You weren't kidding." He looked at his God-son, shocked. Harry gave him a wry smile.

"Nope. She's really in there." Sirius looked back down as he felt another little flutter against his palm. "I'm at twenty weeks. I couldn't tell you in a letter. There's always the chance that it could be intercepted, and we want to keep this quiet for as long as possible." He paused as Sirius lifted his hand away, and looked up at the older man's face. "I'm really sorry Sirius. I thought someone would tell you." Sirius laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's alright Harry. You didn't have a safe way to contact me. I don't blame you. Dumbledore, on the other hand, is going to get an earful. He should have told me." He heaved a sigh and looked at the boy standing next to him. "So, is everything alright? With you I mean?" Harry smiled.

"Yeah, I'm good. Madame Pomfrey does an exam every week just to make sure everything is going okay. I had some pretty bad morning sickness in the beginning, but it's better now." He leaned back against the desk's edge and sighed. "I just wish things would calm down. I was only at the Burrow for a couple of weeks before we had to up and leave, and now we're here and Uncle Vernon is gone and Petunia and Dudley are pretty much homeless. I finally get to see you again and now I'm going to have to leave in a few days for school." He looked up and met Sirius's gaze. "I'm really not looking forward to that." Sirius cocked his head to the side and gave the boy a confused look.

"I thought you liked school?" He said. Harry nodded his head as he pushed away from the desk and began to wander around the room.

"Normally, yes." Harry said as he looked at the book shelves and glass cases that covered the walls of the room. "But, it's going to be hard this year." He sighed and walked back to the desk. He continued when he saw his God-father's curious gaze. He ran a hand over his stomach before he spoke. "She takes a lot out of me, ya know." He looked down at his hands as he started playing with the edge of his oversized shirt. "I get tired pretty easily, and it's hard to focus on one thing for to long." He looked back at Sirius. "Plus we're trying to keep the baby a secret for as long as possible. I don't know how we're going to manage that, what with everyone keeping en eye on me and visits to Poppy and special lessons. It won't be long before some one guesses. And to top it all off I think I've started having cravings." Harry said in an irritated voice. Sirius started to chuckle at the last comment and Harry threw him a dirty look that was softened by the wry grin that went with it. "It's not funny." He insisted. "I'd kill for some Mango chicken right about now." Sirius continued to chuckle as he walked past Harry toward the door, ruffling the boy's hair on his way past. "Well, I'll leave you to get settled in Harry. I need to have a little talk with that Headmaster of yours." Harry winced in response. "And maybe I'll talk to Molly and see if we can take care of that craving." He winked at the boy as he turned and left the room, leaving a grinning Harry behind.

As soon as Sirius left the room Harry headed back to the book shelves that he had glanced over during their conversation. One of the titles had caught his attention. He perused the shelves looking for it and smiled when he saw the book in question. He reached up and slid the dusty tome from its spot on the shelf. He carried it over to the desk and plopped it down, raising a large cloud of dust in the process. He coughed and waved his hand around to clear the air before sitting down in the desk chair that Sirius had occupied before. He ran his hand over the cover of the book to clear off the dust still clinging to it, and read the title.

Wandless Magic: Is It In You?

A guide to your own inner power

By: Prudence Halliwell

Harry snickered at the name; Prudence. Talk about old fashioned names, he thought, as he opened the book. Within minutes he was completely absorbed in its contents. He was abruptly brought back to the real world by someone flicking on the lights in the dimming room. He looked up to see Hermione smiling in approval.

"I'm glad to see you reading Harry, but you'll ruin your eyes if you don't have decent lighting." Harry smiled as she walked towards the desk. He removed his glasses and waved them at her. She grinned sheepishly. "Well, you don't want them to get any worse do you?" He smiled as he put his glasses back on.

"Nope." He dog eared the page he was on in the book and watched Hermione cringe out of the corner of his eye. She just shook her head at him and pulled the book over so she could read the title. He watched as her eyebrows rose slightly.

"Wandless Magic? Where did you find this?" She asked Harry. His brow furrowed. Hermione wasn't usually dense. He gestured to the book shelves all around them.

"In the library maybe?" He suggested. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran her hand over the cover of the book.

"It looks old." She commented. "I can't believe you folded down the page Harry. This book is probably an original edition." She threw him an irritated look and snatched a piece of paper from the rubbish bin. She gently opened the book to the page he had marked and slipped the paper in between the pages before carefully smoothing out the crease he had bent in the page. She pushed it back over to him. "You'll have to let me read it when you're through." Harry nodded at her as he sat back in the chair.

"Well, anyway, I was supposed to come and tell you that dinner is ready. Sirius says you won't want to miss out." Harry grinned as he pushed the chair back and jumped to his feet. He could almost taste the mango already. He came to an abrupt halt as he was rudely reminded that he was supposed to stand up slowly. One hand flew to the side of his belly and the other to the desk top for support as he inhaled sharply. "Harry?!" Hermione was immediately by his side helping him to sit back down.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Harry said as he silently berated himself. He gingerly rubbed the side of his abdomen as the pain started to fade away. He looked up to see Hermione standing anxiously beside him.

"Should I get Madame Pomfrey?" She asked in a worried tone. Harry shook his head as he continued to breathe deep and evenly, the pain diminishing with each breath. "What happened?" She asked as he started to relax. Harry sighed.

"I stood up to fast." He said. She gave him a confused look. "Madame Pomfrey said that there is a ligament in there that pulls sometimes if to much strain is put on it. Apparently mine doesn't like me to stand up to fast." The pain was completely gone and he put his hands on top of the desk and slowly pushed himself to his feet. He felt a slight twinge but it faded within a few seconds. Hermione stepped up next to him her brow still furrowed with worry. He reached up and gently smoothed his thumb over the furrows. "I'm fine Hermione. Don't worry." She nodded and visibly relaxed before ushering him through the door and on to the dinning room.

Harry was a bit disappointed when they got there. The table was heavily laden with what appeared to be a ham dinner with all of the trimmings. He sighed in disappointment and let Hermione direct him to a chair. He grinned from ear to ear, however, once he was seated. Sitting on the table just behind his plate and utensils were two small, white cartons with red Chinese writing printed on the sides. He turned and gave Sirius a knowing look. The older man just shrugged and smiled. Harry reached for one of the containers and opened it. Mango Chicken. He dumped some rice from the other container onto his plate and heaped the chicken on top. He looked up to see the Weasley family eyeing his food in curiosity. Hermione leaned over to get a better look.

"Ooh! Chinese!" She squeaked before lifting her fork and swiping a piece of the chicken. She quickly popped it into her mouth before Harry could even say anything.

"Hey!" He hollered. "Get your own!" The rest of the group chuckled at their antics and began eating their own dinner, although from the smell of it, most of them wished that they were sharing Harry's.

Harry glanced around the table as he worked on devouring his chicken. He noticed that his aunt and cousin were missing from the meal. Sirius saw him frown when he noticed they were missing.

"Dudley wasn't up to eating at the table and your Aunt didn't want him to eat alone. Dobby took them both plates right after we started." He told Harry. Harry nodded. He vowed to himself that he would try and talk to Dudley tomorrow. Hopefully they would be able to at least be civil to one another with out Vernon there to encourage the rift between them. He finished his food and pushed his plate back with a sigh. With a full stomach and the knowledge that he was as safe here as it was possible for him to be, he started to become quite drowsy. Everyone else was enjoying some tea, and quiet conversations around the table. Overall the atmosphere was quite peaceful.

A horrific shriek followed by screams and insults about muggles and mudbloods broke the mood and had everyone starting in shock. Sirius just rolled his eyes while everyone else rushed out to the foyer where the shouting was coming from. Dudley and Petunia stood on the landing, staring in shock at a portrait of an old woman. The old woman was the one doing the screaming and shouting. Sirius pushed past all of the on-lookers and stormed up to the portrait. As soon as she saw him her tirade switched to screams of 'traitor' and 'muggle loving filth'. Sirius slapped a hand to the portrait and pointed his other hand strait at its nose.

"Mother, if you don't shut up I'm going to take everything in this house that isn't fastened with a charm, and burn it." She gaped at him and drew a breath to continue, but he interrupted. "Go ahead, push me. This stuff means absolutely nothing to me, and you know it." She snapped her mouth shut, turned up her nose and sniffed haughtily. Sirius yanked the ratty curtains shut again and turned to usher the traumatized Dudley and Petunia the rest of the way down the steps.

"That was your mum?" Dudley asked when they got back into the dinning room. Sirius nodded as he showed Petunia to a seat. "I feel sorry for you mate." Dudley said as he glanced back at the foyer. Sirius chuckled.

"Thanks for the sympathy. I REALLY wish there was some way to get that picture down." He offered Aunt Petunia a cup of tea, which she accepted with a shaky smile. "I'm glad to see you made it down for some tea at least. Dudley, would you like a cup?" Dudley nodded silently and looked around the table. The only empty seat was the one that Sirius had been sitting in, next to Harry. Dudley walked to the seat and sat down shooting a mumbled hello in Harry's direction. Harry looked at his aunt and she nodded at him, encouragingly.

"Dudley?" Harry said. The heavier boy turned to look at him. "I'm really sorry about Uncle Vernon. I'm sorry this happened." Dudley nodded and turned back to his tea, but not before Harry saw the glassiness in his eyes. Harry pushed back from the table and stood carefully. "I'm going to head up to bed awhile. All that food made me sleepy." He made his way to the door amid various calls of good night and up the stairs, making certain to make no noise when passing the curtain covered portrait.

He had just finished changing into his night clothes when Ron came in the room. He was carrying the book that Harry had been reading earlier.

"Hey mate." He said by way of a greeting. "Hermione said to give this to you. You left it in the Library." He plopped it down on Harry's bed and went to dig out his own night clothes.

"Thanks." Harry said as he moved the heavy book onto his night stand. He climbed into his bed with a weary sigh. He lay there listening to Ron getting ready for bed. Just as he started to nod off, he felt the baby kick. He sighed again and smoothed a hand over his belly and she seemed to calm down. He was asleep in minutes.

Harry felt that he had only been asleep a short time when he drifted back to consciousness. He blinked a few times as he wondered why he was awake. A slight jolt to his bladder gave him his answer. He groaned quietly as he sat up and threw back his blankets. He made his way to the bathroom and was heading back to his room when he saw a faint light coming from under Ginny and Hermione's door. He remembered that he had promised to tell Ginny when the baby's movements could be felt by other people. He walked up to the door and lightly knocked on it. After a few seconds Hermione opened the door and peeked out. She looked surprised to see Harry and opened the door the rest of the way.

"Harry? It's late, what are you doing up? Are you alright?" She asked in a worried tone. Ginny came and stood next to Hermione, looking just as worried as she motioned for Harry to come into the room.

"I'm fine" Harry replied. "The baby has decided that it's fun to bounce on my bladder. I had to go to the bathroom and saw your light on. That's when I remembered that I had promised Ginny I would tell her when the baby started to kick." Ginny's eyes opened wide and she drew in a breath. "You're not the first to feel it though, Sorry."

"Really! She's kicking enough that we can feel it?" Ginny asked, excited. Harry just smiled and reached for her hand. She gave it willingly and moved closer to his side. He placed her palm on his belly, just below his navel, where the kicking was the strongest, and held it there. Ginny squealed when the next movement pushed right against her hand. "That is so amazing!" She breathed as she gestured for Hermione to come closer. "Give me your hand." She took Hermione's hand and placed it right where her own had been. She beamed a toothy grin at Harry when she felt the movements. Harry rested his own hand next to hers.

"She's been really active today. She doesn't usually wake me up at night. Hopefully she doesn't make this a habit." He said with a bit of frown. "I'm tired enough all the time without my sleep being interrupted." He yawned widely and started back out the door. "I'm going back to bed. Good night ladies. Don't stay up to late." The girls just smiled at him as he opened the door.

"Thanks for stopping in Harry. I've been waiting to get to feel that." Ginny said as she gave him a quick hug. "Sleep well." Hermione just waved over Ginny's shoulder. Harry smiled and waved back.

"You too." He said. He walked back to his and Ron's room and snuggled back down into his bed. He had to wait about another thirty minutes before the baby tired herself out enough that he was able to drift back to sleep.

Everyone was up early the following morning. Harry was annoyed that he couldn't make the trip into Diagon Alley with everyone else, but he understood that it was for the best. He gave Mrs. Weasley the money he had left over from the previous school year as well as his Gringotts key, just in case. He was going to need a whole new wardrobe as well as all of his school supplies and new robes. Mrs. Weasley had taken his measurements and then she and Mr. Weasley, accompanied by all of the Weasley children and Hermione, flooed to the Leaky Cauldron.

After the last person had disappeared through the floo network, Harry settled into one of the comfortable wing back chairs in the library, intent on getting through another couple of chapters in his book. He was finding it to be a fascinating read. According to the author, any spell that could be done with a wand could also be done without one, with diligent study and practice. The author had studied instances of what muggles called psychic abilities. She theorized and proved that these were actually instances of wandless magic accidentally being cast by squibs or those who were unaware of their magical abilities. Among these instances were cases of telekinesis, pyrokenisis, teleportation, and divination.

Harry had read through a couple of chapters of theory before he was interrupted. His aunt and Dudley came into the room carrying cleaning supplies and buckets. His aunt smiled at him when she saw him.

"Hello Harry. I was just going to do some cleaning. I can go on to another room if you're busy in here." She said as she motioned to his book. Harry smiled back and shook his head.

"I'm not busy. I was just reading. I was about ready to take a break actually. My neck is getting stiff." He marked his place in the book with the piece of paper and set it aside before getting slowly and stiffly to his feet. As he stood and stretched his back out he noticed once again that Dudley's attention seemed drawn to his belly. He wondered why the other boy was so fascinated by it. Aunt Petunia also seemed to notice because she nudged Dudley with her elbow.

"Don't stare Dudley. I raised you with better manners than that." Dudley flushed and turned his gaze to the floor as he mumbled an apology to the room in general.

"It's alright Aunt Petunia." Harry said. "I should get used to it. I'll be getting plenty of stares when I go back to school." He looked at Dudley. The boy seemed completely different. His father's death was a real blow. The baby started moving again and Harry was oblivious to the fact that he had automatically started rubbing his belly, lost in his thoughts about Dudley. He was jerked back to the present by the clattering his aunt made as she set her cleaning supplies down on the desk. Dudley's gaze was once again back on Harry's stomach. "She's moving around right now. Would you like to feel it?" Dudley seemed surprised by the question but nodded mutely. Harry walked up next to Dudley who raised his hand and then stopped; uncertain as to where to place it. Harry smoothed his shirt and touched a spot on his belly. "You can feel it the strongest here." Dudley placed his palm over the spot Harry had indicated and waited. After a moment or two he felt a soft little nudge against his hand. Not very strong, but still noticeable. He smiled and looked up at his cousin.

"That must feel really odd from the inside." He said as he removed his hand. Harry nodded as he smiled back.

"It's amazing though. And annoying at times. Especially when she decides to bounce on my bladder in the middle of the night." Dudley smirked and moved over to help his mother. "You know you don't have to do any cleaning Aunt Petunia. Dobby will get it caught up." His aunt just shrugged.

"It's not like I have anything better to do. Besides, you know me, I can't stand to see a mess and not clean it up." She grinned at Harry over her shoulder. "Molly just said to stay away from the curtains. She said they have something called Doxies in them?" She looked at Harry who nodded.

"They bite and the bite is mildly toxic to humans." He said. "I think House elves are immune to it though." He walked over and took a can of dusting spray and a rag from the box of supplies on the desk. Aunt Petunia looked at him with a frown and he rolled his eyes. "It's not going to hurt me to help with a little cleaning. I'll only do the stuff I can reach easily." She nodded and they got down to the business of clearing the neglected room of a few decades worth of dust and grime. Sirius joined the party after curing Dudley who had been bitten by a charmed snake ornament in one of the cabinets.

They sat taking a break a little while later in the half cleaned room; chatting as they planned how to tackle the other half.

"Mr. Black?" Petunia said, earning herself a glowering look. "Sorry. Sirius, I was wondering? How do you feel about that portrait of your mother? Do you care if it's destroyed or did you just want to take it down and stash it somewhere?" Sirius snorted.

"I'd be delighted to see it destroyed. If we could get it off of the wall, I'd burn the damn thing." Petunia nodded and got up to look through her cleaning supplies. "These are all cleaning supplies that I asked the Professor for." She held up a large white bottle. "This one is called Turpentine. We use it to clean up spilled paint and clean out paint brushes." A wide grin split Sirius face. "Do you think the picture would be…charmed…against muggle cleaning agents?" She asked. Sirius laughed. He got up and took the bottle and a rag from Petunia and practically ran from the room, the rest of the quartet following behind him.

"Oh Mother!" Sirius shouted as the entered the foyer. "I have something for you!" He stalked up the steps and pulled the curtains back as Mrs. Black started her tirade. "Look mother, just for you. Now, Mrs. Dursley over there (Muggle Filth!) …tsk tsk. Mother that's not very nice…anyway, Petunia says that this is something called Turpentine. Muggles use it to clean up paint." The portrait grew quiet. "I wonder mother…would you have had your portrait charmed against muggle means of removal?" Mrs. Black's eyes widened as she looked at the bottle in her son's hand. "Let's just see, shall we?" He tipped the bottle and wet the rag in his other hand. Harry stepped back out of the range of the strong fumes, but he was still able to see that a large swath of paint came off onto Sirius rag when he drew it over the painting. Sirius crowed with delight and attacked the portrait with vigor; happily working his way into the center of the portrait from the edges. Mrs. Black screamed and screeched the entire time. Finally the only paint left on the canvas was a square in the center that was completely filled with the scrunched up form of Mrs. Black. Sirius blew her a mock kiss. "Good bye Mother." He grinned as he wiped the rag right through the center of the square and then erased it completely, leaving a canvas filled with only murky traces of the paint. He turned and handed the rag and the bottle to Petunia. "That was so therapeutic." Harry laughed at him from down in the foyer.

"You wouldn't happen to have a portrait of Voldemort around here would you?"

An exhausted Mrs. Weasley and crew returned from a routine and thankfully uneventful trip to Diagon Alley heavily loaded with supplies. They were just in time for dinner, so the sorting of said supplies was put on hold. After the meal was cleared away by Dobby and another clearly reluctant and resentful elf, whom Harry assumed must be Kreacher, Mrs. Weasley approached Harry with a velvet Gringotts bag in hand. Harry waited for her while Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny started lugging all of their new supplies upstairs. When she reached Harry, she handed him the bag while rummaging around in one of her pockets. She pulled out his vault key and handed that to him as well.

"I did need to pull out some money for you new robes." She said with a small apologetic smile. "So, since we were already there, I pulled out a little extra for you, so you'll have spending money for the year." Harry gave her a grateful smile as he put both his key and the pouch of money in his pants pocket.

"Thanks, I didn't even think about that." He said as they turned to follow the other children. She smiled back, placing her hand lightly at the small of Harry's back as they started up the stairs.

"I told the others to take your things up stairs to your room. Ginny and Hermione helped me pick out all of your clothes, so they can show you everything. I hope you like it…." She stopped talking and walking at the same time. Harry looked up to see her staring at the blank canvas framed by open tattered curtains on the wall at the landing. She turned wide shocked eyes to Harry's smiling face. "What happened?!" She asked in an awed voice. She didn't think that they would ever be rid of that screaming old harpy. Harry's grin widened.

"Sirius, a bottle of Turpentine, and many years of pent up anger and resentment." He said simply as he started up the next flight of steps. Mrs. Weasley hitched up her skirts and hurried to catch up with him.

"Turpentine? What's Turpentine?" She asked as her hand settled comfortably back into its previous position.

"It's a chemical that muggles use to clean up paint." Harry explained. "Aunt Petunia had the idea that maybe the painting wouldn't be charmed against muggle stuff and she was right." Mrs. Weasley gave a small laugh of satisfaction.

"And good riddance I say." They stopped at the door to Harry and Ron's room. "Alright dear, you go have a look at what we got for you. If you don't like something, we can always exchange it." And with a smile and a pat to his arm she was bustling back down the steps. As Harry turned to head into the room he saw Dudley lingering by the window at the end of the hallway.

"Hello Dudley." He said. He received a quiet 'Hi' in return. "Would you like to come in for awhile?" Harry invited. "We're just going to be sorting through some of our new school things." Dudley shrugged but joined Harry at the doorway with a small smile on his round face.

The following six days were spent packing, checking and therefore repacking school trunks. Harry made sure that he packed all of his new clothes. He was already wearing the new trousers on a regular basis. They had been charmed to keep cool in the hottest of conditions and to keep up with Harry's growth. The soft fabric clung to the curve of his belly, but in an inexplicably comfortable way. His hand-me-down shirts were still large enough so he decided to save all of his new ones for school.

The evening before their departure found everyone gathered around the large kitchen table drinking tea and indulging in various puddings. Harry seemed quiet and pensive, toying with his treacle tart. Ginny sat down next to him and gave him a little nudge with her shoulder.

"You alright Harry?" She asked. "You usually tear into your Aunt's treacle tart." Harry gave her half a smile as he continued to twirl his fork through the desert.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little nervous I guess." He laid down his fork and rubbed his hands over his belly with a sigh. "What with quitting Quidditch, weekly appointments with Poppy, special lesson plans, a ballooning belly, and you guys all fussing over me…..I just wonder how long it will be before someone figures out what's wrong with me. I want to keep her secret and safe forever, you know." Ginny laid her hand on his belly and smiled at the slight movements coming form inside.

"I think she can tell that something is going on." Ginny said. "She seems as restless as the rest of us." Harry nodded as he placed his hand next to hers.

"She has been a little more active this evening. She can probably sense that I'm nervous. Poppy says that unborn babies tend to be very sensitive to what the 'mother' is feeling." He glared at Ginny when she smirked at his use of the word 'mother'. "And calling me any form of the word mother will result in a severe hexing." He warned. Ginny shook her head and chuckled.

"Daddy suites you much better." She said. Harry blushed and sighed feeling some of his nervousness dissipate.

"I guess all we can do is take it as it comes." He said as he picked his fork back up and nibbled at the sticky sweetness clinging to it. Ginny gave his arm a squeeze.

"It'll be alright Harry. Just think, once people do find out about her, she'll have everyone from three of the four houses looking out for her. She's a Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw, and a Hufflepuff. That little one's going to have a lot of aunties and uncles." Harry smiled and took another bite of his desert, suddenly feeling much less apprehensive.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: See one of the first five chapters for the disclaimer. :D To all who have been following this and my other fic 'Little Miss Longbottom' I say thank you for hanging in there. I'm still working on them. Married life and having a baby takes up more time than I ever thought it would especially when the baby comes to early (two months to early!). But she's doing well and life is slowing down a bit, I hope. So thanks for hanging in there. I appreciate it!

Despite Mrs. Weasley's fully rational fear that the next morning would be completely chaotic, everyone was up, dressed, fed, and ready to leave by the appointed time. There were no ministry cars to drive them this year, so they were walking to King's Cross Station to catch the train. They were splitting up into groups for the trek. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were with Mrs. Weasley, a young auror with pink hair named Tonks, and Sirius in the form of Snuffles. His face was still known in the muggle world and he didn't want to draw undue attention to the group. The other children had all been split up amongst various other order members that they had met during their brief stay at headquarters. They were all scheduled to leave at five minute intervals to leave some distance between each group.

As they walked Harry kept noticing smiling looks passing between the women of the group. It was quite unnerving. Ron seemed to be clueless, taking in all of the muggle sights around him, but Harry noticed. After yet another sideways look and smile from Hermione, he'd had quite enough.

"What do you lot keep smiling at?" He demanded as he turned on Hermione. She tried to quickly remove the smile from her face but it only seemed to want to get bigger. Mrs. Weasley intervened, giving Harry a brief one armed hug around the shoulders.

"It's nothing Harry, dear. It's just such a lovely day to be out and about." Snuffles gave a short happy bark in agreement and bounded around the group as Molly got them moving again. Harry gave her a suspicious look and walked on ahead to catch up with Ron. This outing was the first time they'd had the opportunity to see him walk more than a few feet at a time and all three had to smother large grins as they watched him. He was definitely beginning to develop a slight waddle.

It had been decided that they would wait for the rest of their group on the wizarding side of the barrier for platform nine and three-quarters. With in fifteen minutes the whole group was assembled and their trunks and various animal cages all unshrunk.

"All right dears. You have ten minutes until the train leaves." Mrs. Weasley said. "You'd better all go find your seats." She grabbed her nearest child, which happened to be Ginny and started bestowing hugs. When she reached Harry she gave him a gentle squeeze while placing a kiss on his forehead. "If you need anything at all you need only write or send Dobby, alright?" Harry nodded to her. "Good boy." She pulled him to her chest again. "You take care Harry." She said as she released him.

"I will Mrs. Weasley." Harry turned to retrieve his trunk only to find Tonks and the now human Sirius holding it between them. Harry was so glad that Wormtail's capture had cleared his god-father's name. The man smiled at him and motioned for him to lead the way onto the train. He quickly found the compartment containing Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and slid the door open. All along the train, compartment doors were opening and people were pointing and whispering. Harry could catch bits and pieces of conversations. Sirius' name was mentioned over and over again. Sirius, becoming uncomfortable with all of the scrutiny quickly gave his god-son a hug and left the train. Ron stuck his head out of their compartment door to see people still staring in their direction.

"What are you all gawping at?!" He said angrily. "He's been cleared, for Merlin's sake. Get a grip!" He slid the door shut with a solid thunk. Harry sighed as he slumped down in his seat. Hermione poked him in the arm.

"You're going to give yourself a back ache sitting like that." She said. Harry rolled his eyes at her but grudgingly sat up straighter in his seat. She smiled and reached up to release Crookshanks from his carrier. He jumped out and sprawled on the bench beside Harry who had started rubbing at a spot on his belly. Ginny smiled at him.

"Is she kicking?" She asked. Harry nodded and she reached across to lay a hand on his stomach. "I love feeling her move. It's so amazing." She said as she traced the movements across his belly. She quickly pulled her hand away when they heard a knock on the compartment door. Harry sat up straighter and fluffed his shirt out as the door opened to reveal Neville Longbottom.

"Hello." He said in a timid voice. "Can I sit in here? I got in late and all the others are full." Everyone looked at Harry. He thought for a minute before nodding. He shared a dorm with Neville. Harry figured that his dorm mates would have to be told. He wouldn't be able to hide his belly while changing and bathing. Neville smiled in relief and moved into the compartment. He handed his toad, Trevor, to Ginny and hoisted his trunk up in the rack. He sat down beside Ginny and smiled at everyone as he took Trevor back.

"I didn't think I would see much of you on this trip Hermione." He said. She gave him a puzzled look. "I thought for sure that you would get Prefect this year." Hermione ducked her head, looking guilty, and for some reason, so did Ron. Harry gave them suspicious looks. He glanced at Ginny who quickly averted her eyes.

"Alright." He said as he glared at them. "I'm obviously not being told about something." Hermione's face flushed a brighter red and Ron kept glancing between her and an interesting spot on the floor between his feet. Neville just looked down at his toad wondering what kind of trouble he'd stirred up this time. "Some one had better tell me what's going on." Harry said in a demanding voice. Ginny glanced at Ron and Hermione, who both looked threateningly back at her. Ginny sat up straighter and glared back.

"I told you he'd find out. It's not right to keep it from him." She looked back at Harry. "Hermione and Ron were both offered Prefect positions this year, but they decided to turn them down. They told Dumbledore to pick some one else." Harry looked at his friends, bewildered.

"Why on earth would you turn him down?" He asked them. They looked at him and Hermione sighed deeply.

"It's our fifth year Harry. We've got our O. this year and neither of us wanted the extra responsibility that comes with being prefect. You've got to patrol the halls at all hours and all kinds of extra work." She was setting these as reasons she had turned down the position, but her eyes sparkled as she said them. Harry gave her an exasperated look.

"Oh, come off it Hermione!" He said. "You really expect me to believe you would turn it down because of extra responsibility. Ron? Yes, I could see that. You? Not a chance." Ron looked slightly affronted when Harry said this, but decided not to argue when he realized it was true. He sighed and then spoke.

"We wanted to be able to concentrate on helping you, alright?" Harry looked confused. "As Hermione said, it's O. this year. You're going to have a hard time keeping up and we've all" He nodded at the Ginny and Hermione "decided that we're going to concentrate on helping you. We can't do that if we have to keep rushing off for prefect duties." Harry looked shocked.

"But... you can't turn down opportunities like being prefect because of me." He said. He rested a hand on his belly. "This is my problem to deal with, it shouldn't affect you guys." The other three looked insulted.

"Not affect us?!" Hermione said as she stood. "You're our best friend Harry. Of course this affects us. We spend all of our free time together, we're the only people aside from the staff that you can confide in, and we all love you. How can this not affect us? We've all decided that we're going to help you keep up, both before and after the baby comes, and we're not changing our minds, so deal with it." With that said she sat down and crossed her arms in huffy silence. No one said anything. Harry couldn't believe what they had done. He didn't want them to give things up because of him. He felt his eyes start to tear up as he looked at them.

"But...I don't want you to miss out on things because of me." He said in an unsteady voice. "You shouldn't have to sacrifice things like that." He said as a tear made its way down his cheek. Ginny quickly moved over to sit beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"That's what you do for family Harry. You sacrifice with out a second thought because your family is more important than anything else." He closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "We chose what was more important to us." Harry leaned his head over on her shoulder. Everyone sat looking at him in silence. It was finally broken by Trevor, who croaked loudly as he tried to escape Neville. Harry gave a watery chuckle and looked around at him. Neville sat wide eyed looking at the group. Everyone looked back at Harry as they realized what they had done. They had all forgotten that Neville was there. Hermione brought a hand up to cover her mouth as she realized that she had mentioned the baby.

"I'm so sorry Harry." She said in a horrified whisper. Harry just shook his head.

"It's alright. I was going to tell our dorm-mates anyway. I have to change and bathe. They'll want to know where the big belly is coming from." He looked at Neville. "Can I trust you with this if I tell you Neville? Can you keep it secret?" Neville nodded slowly. "You won't tell anyone?" Harry pressed.

"I won't. I swear." Neville said as he shook his head. Harry sighed and Ginny rubbed his arm in support.

"Do you remember when Cho Chang died last term?" Neville nodded. "She was pregnant. She and Cedric Diggory had been engaged." Neville's eyes widened. "I was with Cho when she died. Peter Pettigrew killed her. The jinx that he hit her with blasted her into a tree and she was impaled by a branch." He paused and took a shaky breath as Ginny continued to rub his arm. "She told me about the baby before she died. She didn't want her child to die too so, she transferred the baby into me, and I promised her that I would take care of it." He looked up at Neville. "So here I am, two months later and five months pregnant." He said as he smoothed his shirt over his belly. Neville's eyes got bigger as he looked at it. "Neville." He looked back up at Harry's face. "We have to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Do you understand?" Neville nodded.

"I won't tell anyone. I swear it." Neville said. "Are you going to tell Dean and Seamus too?" Harry nodded.

"Do you think I can trust them?" Harry asked him. Neville shrugged his shoulders.

"I think so. I don't know them all that well, but, if you let them know how important it is...I'm sure they'll keep it secret." He looked quizzically at Harry. "Why is it so important to keep it secret?" He asked.

"If Voldemort finds out about this baby, she'll become a target." Harry said as he rested his hand on his stomach. "I don't want that to happen. I want her to be safe." Neville nodded in understanding.

"I'll help however I can." He said. "Just make sure you don't sit near me in Potions." He said ruefully making every one laughed.

"There's a class that should be lots of fun this year." Harry said with a sour tone. "All of the teachers are supposed to come up with alternate lesson plans for me when ever the regular lesson is dangerous for the baby. I'm sure Snape just loved doing that." Hermione nodded her head with a grin.

"That'll probably be at least half of his lesson plans. There are a lot of potions ingredients that you shouldn't be handling right now." Harry shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Not much that I can do about it." He said. They carried on in comfortable friendly conversation for the rest of the train ride, interrupted only by Harry's frequent trips to the loo and the snack trolley.

"We'd better get our robes on." Hermione said after a glance out of the window. "We're nearly there."

By the time the train started to slow they were all dressed in their robes and ready to head for the carriages. Harry was a little nervous, repeatedly glancing down to make sure that his robes weren't clinging to his belly. Neville leaned over after yet another nervous glance down.

"You can't tell." He said. "Honest. Just don't rub it. I noticed that you have a habit of doing that. It's a dead give away." Harry gave him a wry grin.

"Yeah, I know. I've noticed that about pregnant people. I don't know what it is. If your hands aren't busy then your belly seems to be the best place for them. It just became habit. Especially after the baby started moving." They all stood as the train stopped and the corridor started to fill with students. Hermione gathered Crookshanks up in her arms and Harry took Hedwig from her cage and carried her with him into the hall. As soon as they reached the exit she took off and flew away in the direction of the school. They waved to Hagrid as he went about collecting the first years and headed for the carriages. As they neared, Harry realized that the carriages weren't horseless this year. There was something that resembled a horse at the front of each carriage.

"What are those?" He asked as he pointed at the creature in front of the nearest carriage. Neville and Ron looked to where he was pointing and frowned. Ron looked back at him.

"That's a carriage Harry. We've been riding in them every year since the end of our first year." Harry gave him an annoyed and exasperated look.

"I know that. I'm not an idiot Ron. I'm talking about the thing pulling it." Ron and Neville gave each other rather worried looks.

"Pulling what?" Hermione asked as she and Ginny joined them. Ron was still looking between Harry and the empty space in front of the carriage.

"Harry reckons that there is something pulling the carriages." He said to Hermione. Hermione looked at Harry who was looking back and forth between them and the creature.

"The carriages are horseless Harry. They always have been." She said as she walked up beside him. "Are you feeling alright?" Harry was confused.

"You mean you can't see it?" He asked. "It's right here." He walked up next to the beast and pointed at it, creeped out a bit when it turned hazy white eyes on him. Hermione shook her head and frowned with worry.

"There's nothing there Harry." Ginny insisted. Harry growled in frustration and grabbed her hand, leading her around to the front of the animal.

"It's right here!" He said as he placed her hand on the animal's head. Ginny squealed in shock and yanked her hand back as she felt warm flesh where there should have been empty air.

"There is something there!" She said as she looked at the rest of the group. Hermione walked up and raised a hand feeling around until she encountered the side of the animal.

"What does it look like Harry?" She asked quietly.

"Kind of like a horse." He said. "But it looks dead. It's just skin and bone. And it has wings!" He exclaimed as he noticed them for the first time. Hermione nodded her head.

"It's a thestral. They're in our books for Care of Magical Creatures this year. You can only see them after you've witnessed death." She said as she looked up at Harry. He looked back at the beast and raised a hand to pet its nose.

"Oh. So that's why none of you can see it." He looked back at the group. "I thought maybe I was starting to go nuts." Neville looked around and saw that all the other carriages were full and ready to leave.

"We'd better load up. They're ready to leave." They all walked back to the carriage and loaded up. Harry gratefully accepted the help that Neville offered as he climbed into the carriage. Ginny looked around at Ron and Hermione with a wry grin on her face.

"If any of us had done that, he'd be biting our heads off." The other two laughed as Harry blushed.

"I would not." He said defensively. "I know when to accept help. I don't want to fall out of the carriage. Sturdy, stable steps are one thing. Something that might move at any moment is completely different." He argued as he sat between Neville and Ginny.

The sorting and the welcoming feast passed without incident. Gryffindor house received eight new students from the sorting and the food was as wonderful as ever. Harry encountered his first hurdle later that evening. He, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had all been sitting in their customary seats around the fire place when Harry spotted Angelina Johnson headed toward him wearing the quidditch captain's badge.

"Well done Angelina." He said with a smile with out getting up from his seat. "I wondered who would be captain this year." She smiled at him.

"Thanks Harry. I wanted to talk to you about setting up trials to fill our empty position. We need to find a keeper before we can have our first practice." Harry gave her a guilty look as she sat down next to him.

"What?" She said, immediately on her guard. "I know that look Potter and it never means anything good." Harry sighed.

"You'll have to find a new seeker as well." He said. She looked at him as if he were crazy.

"And why would I have to do that? The best one we've ever had is sitting right next to me." She said in a dangerous sounding tone.

"I'm sorry Angelina, but I can't play this year. I've got a medical condition that'll keep me grounded until Christmas at the least." She gaped at him. "I'm really sorry. I'll help the team in any way that I can as long it doesn't involve me getting on a broom. I can't fly." Angelina looked ready to cry.

"Why are you doing this to me Harry?!" She cried as she turned to face him and grabbed his shoulders. "This is my first year as team captain! Please, don't do this to me." She pleaded. Harry reached up and patted her hand before removing it from his shoulder.

"Trust me Angelina, if it were at all possible I would be up in the air with the team instead of in the stands. I love quidditch. I love flying. I wouldn't give it up unless I absolutely had to. And I do. I'm sorry." She crossed her arms in a huff and glared at him.

"What condition can you possibly have that would keep you grounded for four months?" She demanded. Harry shook his head.

"That's personal and you don't need to know. You can check with Professor McGonagall if you don't believe me." She wilted in defeat and let out an anguished groan before looking back at him.

"You'll at least help me at the tryouts, won't you?" She asked. "I can't put a new team together myself." Harry smiled.

"Of course I will. I already told you that. I'll do what ever I can to help as long as I can stay on the ground." She nodded her thanks to him.

"I'll let you know when the tryouts are going to be." She stood and left the group. Harry looked back at his friends and shook his head.

"I thought she'd throw a much bigger fit than that." He looked back at the girl who was sharing his news with the team chasers, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinet, both of who looked horrified. He shrugged and turned back to the fire. "Well, I'm heading up to bed." He said after a few moments silence. "I'm beat."


	9. Chapter 9

Harry rose early the next morning in order to beat his dorm mates to the showers. He knew they had to be told about the baby, but he just wasn't ready yet. He had just finished pulling on his shirt and pants when Dean stumbled in, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Morning Harry." He said through his yawn. Harry smiled in reply and quickly sat on the closest bench. To all appearances he just needed to have a seat to pull on his socks and shoes, but the real reason was that his regular clothes did little to hide his bump these days. He got his socks and shoes on and was fastening his robes when Seamus and Ron came in. Harry said good morning, collected his things and left.

Breakfast was an interesting affair as each of his friends tried to encourage him to eat just a bit more of this or that. There was even a contribution that Harry was sure came from Dobby. A nice big mug of perfectly steeped ginger tea. He didn't need the tea for morning sickness any more, but it had become a part of his routine.

Professor McGonagall wandered around the room handing out time tables. Ron took one look at his and let his head slump onto the table. Hermione and Harry laughed as he rolled his head back and forth mumbling what sounded like "No, no, no" over and over again.

"It can't be that bad Ron." Hermione said as she looked at her own schedule. Ron looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "Oh, I guess it can be." She said with a frown. Harry quickly looked at his timetable and started to feel nauseous. Three of his least favorite classes started off the week.

"Was it really necessary to give us History of Magic, Potions, and Divination all on the same day? And lets add insult to injury and make it on Monday while we're at it!" Ron exclaimed. "I think they've got it in for us this year. The only good class we have today is Defense Against the Dark Arts!" He glanced at Hermione's schedule. "At least you get to go to Arithmancy instead of Divination." She gave him a sour look.

"Well whose fault is that? I told you to give up that stupid subject two years ago and you wouldn't listen." Harry heaved a sigh in hopes of averting a full bickering session and it worked. Hermione looked questioningly at him and he just waved off her concern.

"Well, I suppose if I can manage to not fall asleep for Binns , not puke in potions or get stuck in the trap door to Trelawney I should get through the rest of the day in one piece." Ron and Hermione smiled and they all began to collect their things.

As it turned out Harry was not able to stay awake in History of Magic. Hermione had had to nudge him awake numerous times when his snoring had started to gain even Binns' attention. As they left the class Harry started to feel a bit nervous about what their potions class would bring. They were seated at their stations and reading over the blackboard when Snape swept in.

"I want you to divide into two groups." He said as he strode to the front of the room. "We will be studying alternative brewing this semester. In each class half of you will be brewing using traditional methods and the other half will be using an alternative." He turned to glare at the class. "Who can tell the class why one might want to employ an alternative method?" Hermione immediately shot her hand in the air, but Snape ignored her and called on Malfoy instead. The Slytherin boy thought for a moment.

"Well, the most common reason is usually lack of an ingredient. Potions brewed with alternative methods also tend to be a bit weaker than traditionally brewed ones so if you don't need a full strength potion you can use the alternative. Other reasons could also be an allergy to a specific ingredient or pregnancy. Some ingredients such as tansy and mistletoe can cause miscarriages." Snape nodded his head in affirmation.

"Well done Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Harry smiled slightly as he automatically began to copy down the method for the alternative potion. He made a pointed effort to complete the potion properly. He figured that was the least he could do after causing Snape and all of the other teachers so much extra work and was rewarded by Snape passing his potion by with no comment. At the end of the class he packed his things slowly and waited until everyone but Ron and Hermione had left the room. He told them to wait by the door as he approached the professor's desk.

"Professor Snape, Sir." He said as he stopped in front of the desk. Snape sighed and looked up at him. "I just wanted to say thank you Sir. I know I've caused you a lot of extra work and I really do appreciate it." Snape nodded his acknowledgment.

"See that you continue to make good use of it Potter. I do not like to do extra work for no reason." Harry nodded back to him.

"I'll do my best." He nodded again and joined Ron and Hermione at the door. Harry was very glad that he could once again enjoy his food as they made their way to the great hall for lunch. Harry raised a few eyebrows at the table as he broke a meat pie apart and covered it with mashed potatoes and gravy. He was on his second helping of this concoction when he looked up to see Dean and Seamus staring at him.

"What?" He asked as he reached for a jug of milk.

"Are ye a bit hungry?" Seamus asked. Harry grinned at him and started to down his milk in large gulps. When lunch ended Hermione said good bye and left them for Arithmancy as Harry and Ron set off at a quick pace for Divination. They made it to the trap door just before it closed. Harry didn't have any trouble getting through the door, but almost as soon as he got through it, he was overwhelmed by the warmth of the room and the noxious fumes of incense. Suddenly wishing he had taken it easy at lunch he swallowed hard and quickly took a seat. Ron sat next to him and glanced at him warily.

"You alright?" He whispered. "You look a bit green 'round the gills." Harry shook his head slightly and closed his eyes.

"It's too hot in here and that incense is making me want to puke." Ron quickly leaned across Harry, a risky move by anyone's measure, and pushed open the small window that was beside him. Harry immediately leaned closer to the fresh air coming in through the opening. He ended up falling asleep with his head on the sill. Ron woke him at the end of the class. Harry struggled to regain his faculties as they packed up and left for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Harry asked as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Didn't Trelawney notice?" Ron nodded his head and smiled.

"She looked at you, gave you a soppy doe eyed smiled and kept walking." Ron said. "I figured if she wasn't going to wake you I wasn't either. You need the sleep these days." Harry grinned wryly.

"Remind me not to eat so much lunch on Mondays anymore. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep it all down." Harry said as he rubbed a hand across his stomach under the cover of his book bag. Ron snickered but nodded. They met up with Hermione outside of DADA.

"How was Divination?" She asked. Harry laughed.

"It was great!" He said. She gave him a puzzled look. "I slept the whole way through it." She gasped.

"You didn't!" She looked at Ron for confirmation and he just smiled and nodded. "Harry! You'll get yourself into trouble if you keep that up." Harry leaned closer to her and whispered.

"I'm already in trouble. That's why I keep falling asleep." She just laughed and pushed him into the classroom. They all took their seats and within moments Professor Alastor Moody, the real one, was stumping his way up to the front of the room.

"Good afternoon." He growled at the class. "I understand that the imposter you had last year actually did a fair job teaching you about the kind of things you can expect of someone using the dark arts. Now we will get on with learning how to defend oneself from those kinds of attacks." He looked up at the class. "Who can tell me the best way to defend against attacks by dark wizards?" Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Ms. Granger."

"Shield charms, professor." Professor Moody nodded but disagreed.

"We'll call that the second best defense. Anyone else? What is the absolute best defense?" Harry raised his hand tentatively. "Mr. Potter."

"Keep away from them." He said. Moody nodded encouragingly so Harry continued. "Steer clear of them to begin with and you won't have to worry about it. But the tactic also works for those of us who trouble seems to search out. If your facing an opponent, don't just stand there. A moving target is always much harder to hit. Get some distance if you can and keep moving."

"Well done, Potter. Ten points." Moody moved around to the front of his desk. "Mr. Potter is absolutely correct. If you find yourself in trouble, keep moving. High tail it out of there if you can. If not, face your opponent but keep moving. Don't offer them a stationary target. Everyone on your feet." As they all stood the Professor waved his wand and all of the desks slid to the edges of the room. "Pair up. I'm assuming you can all manage a decent tickling charm by now. We'll be using them to practice avoidance techniques. The student who can last the longest without getting hit will win another ten points for your house." Harry quickly paired up with Hermione. Ron looked somewhat offended, but Harry didn't trust anyone else to be throwing spells at him and the baby.

Soon the class was awash with out bursts of laughter and fits of giggles as Moody had them switch off between casting and avoiding every five minutes. Harry got Hermione on their second round, but she didn't get him until they were nearing the end of the class period. Harry tried to duck the charm, but the bump kept him from getting low enough and he felt a flurry of invisible fingers running up and down his ribs. He barely had time to laugh though before Hermione ended the spell and looked at him with questioning apprehension. Harry smiled to let her know he was fine and they continued on. Ron was the one to win the ten points. Most people glared at him believing that he had gotten off easy having been paired with Neville. Ron shook his head.

"Neville was actually doing pretty good. He nearly got me a couple of times, but when you have five older brothers and a younger sister, all of whom can be very vindictive, you learn to move fast." he said with a grin.

After dropping their books and things off in the common room Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to go for a walk to kill time before dinner. Hermione and Ron were engaged in a debate about the treatment of house elves and Harry just automatically followed in their wake, not paying much attention to their direction. He eventually looked up when he heard the sound of water, and froze when he realized where they were. Not even ten feet away was the tree where Cho had died. He could see the scar in the trunk where branch had broken off. His breath hitched as he inhaled, causing Hermione to look up from her and Ron's conversation.

"Harry, are you alright?" She glanced quickly at Ron when she didn't get an answer and they hurried back to Harry's side. "Harry? You're white as a sheet, what's wrong?" she pleaded as she grabbed hold of his arm. Harry closed his eyes at her touch and drew in a slow, deep breath. He reached up and took hold of her hand, squeezing it in an attempt to get his bearings again. He blinked moisture from his eyes and pointed at the tree.

"Cho died at the foot of that tree, in my arms." Hermione's mouth formed an O of astonishment, which was quickly replaced with a look of remorse.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about it when we headed down here. We've always walked around the lake." Harry shook his head and took a few steps closer to the tree.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever showed anybody where it happened. I carried her and levitated Pettigrew to Hagrid's hut. He called Dumbledore. Nobody ever asked exactly where it happened." He laid a gentle hand against the trunk of the tree and used the other one to open his robes and gently cup the swell of his belly. "I'm trying." He said softly as he looked up at the trees branches. "She's still safe." The wind blew and rustled the leaves that were starting to turn color for the fall. He felt a gentle hand come up to rest on his back and sighed as he pulled his hand away from the tree. He looked at Hermione and gave her a sad smile. She wiped a tear from under her own eye and pulled him into a hug. She pulled away after a few moments and began to search the ground around the tree. She found a small boulder, about the size of a quaffle, and levitated it to the base of the tree. She went through a complicated series of wand waves and with a final flick turned the boulder into a stone statue of a beautiful butterfly. Harry looked at her questioningly.

"Cho's name means Butterfly." She explained. Harry knelt and gently caressed one of the stone wings before smoothing his hands down over his belly again. He looked down at the curve and spoke to the baby inside.

"Your mother died here, but she loved you more than anything and the last thing she did was make sure you were safe. I'm going to try to do the same. Try to keep you safe, but I won't say it's for her. Not anymore. I know how she felt now. You're the most important thing in my life now and I will do anything to keep you safe. I promise."

He gave the butterfly one last caress and rose to his feet with a bit of assistance from Ron. He heaved a heavy sigh, wiped the last traces of moisture from his face and smiled tentatively at his friends. Hermione came up beside him and threading her arm through his started to steer him gently back toward the castle.


	10. Chapter 10

NOTE: I think I have finally gotten back into the swing of this story. Yay! I think I'll need to finish this one before attempting to do the same for Little Miss Longbottom. Hope you enjoy. Typical Disclaimer applies.

The next two days were pretty uneventful. Harry had to admit that he entered a bit of a depression after the trip to the lake, but he was slowly recovering. He concentrated fully on his classes, striving to prove that he was making use of the extra effort that the teachers were going to. His homework was always done and Hermione rarely caught any errors when he insisted that she check it over. Besides the normal work load for class, Harry was also still studying the book that he had found in the library at Grimmold place. The thought of being able to perform spells even after you've been disarmed held a lot of appeal for Harry. He was relaxing in the common room Wednesday evening, reading his book, when Hermione interrupted.

"Harry, are you supposed to go see Madame Pomfrey this evening?" He glanced up at the clock and shrugged.

"She never said she wanted to change the schedule, but she didn't specify a time either." He placed a book mark in his page and closed the book. "I guess I could just head up there. See if she's ready for me." Hermione nodded and glanced at Ron who was heading in their direction. "Do you guys want to come along?" Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Of course, I want to see her on the ultrasound. She's going to be so much bigger." Her gaze flicked down to his belly and her smile broadened. "You might even be able to find out if she actually is a 'she'." Harry smiled and touched his belly briefly.

"Let's go." Ron gave him a hand up from the chair and they crawled through the portrait hole, headed for the infirmary. When they entered the hospital wing a few minutes later, Madame Pomfrey looked up from the bed she was making and smiled.

"Ah, Harry. Wonderful. I was hoping you would make your way up here this evening. I would have sent for you eventually, but I didn't want to if I didn't have too. Try to keep things as inconspicuous as possible." He chuckled as he, Ron, and Hermione followed her to one of the private exam rooms.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Once the door was closed and secured, he removed his robes and sat on the edge of the bed. Madame Pomfrey bustled over and stuck a thermometer under his tongue and then reached for his wrist to check his pulse.

"Very good." She said as she grabbed his chart and marked down his pulse. She reached up and took the thermometer from his mouth, then squinted at it to see the reading. "Also good." She said as she smiled at Harry. "Anything to report? Any changes?" Harry shook his head.

"No. Everything's been about the same. Angelina almost had a meltdown when I told her I couldn't play Quidditch this year though. She tried to demand a reason out of me, but I just told her it was personal." Madame Pomfrey nodded in approval.

"Good boy. I'm glad to see you standing up for yourself." She stepped over to the corner of the room and started to wheel over the ultrasound machine. Harry smiled and started to unbutton his shirt. He lay down and watched as the medi-witch turned on the machine. She shooed Ron and Hermione over to the other side of the bed as she got everything positioned and then took a small towel and tucked it into the waistband of Harry's pants as she pulled it below the curve of his belly. Harry braced himself as she pulled out the bottle of conductive gel, but relaxed when it went on warm. "Better?" Madame Pomfrey asked with a smile. Harry nodded.

"Much better." They all turned their attention to the monitor as she began to spread the gel around and look for a good angle. Harry watched as the colors swirled and blurred around on the screen until Madame Pomfrey found her angle and stilled the transducer wand. His mouth dropped open as he looked at the baby. It was perfect. At his first ultrasound, Harry had been surprised by how well developed the baby already looked, but it was nothing compared to this time. It looked like a fully formed perfect baby. He glanced up at Madame Pomfrey. "She looks like she could be born tomorrow." Madame Pomfrey smiled.

"Just a few more weeks and it likely would be able to survive outside the womb, but only with a lot of medical help and risk of complications. This little one needs to bake for a good bit longer yet. It has everything it needs to survive now, but it all needs to mature a bit to be fully functioning. It's also very scrawny at this point. They use the last few weeks to pack on the baby fat, after everything else is finished developing." Harry nodded in understanding. Madame Pomfrey started moving the wand around then and clicking different buttons on the machine console.

"Are you taking measurements?" Hermione asked. The elder witch nodded and they watched as she continued to click away. They all glanced at each other at one point during the proceedings when Madame Pomfrey smiled to herself, but she just went on with her exam without saying anything. After a few more minutes she finally sat back a little and returned the transducer to a position that offered a good view of the baby's face.

"Everything looks good. Baby's a good weight, about four hundred and twenty-eight grams. And the length is good, around twenty-seven centimeters. It's active and making lots of movements." Madame Pomfrey smiled at Harry. "In other words, you're doing a good job Harry. Baby looks nice and healthy." Harry smiled at her and blinked a little wetness back but he didn't quite trust his voice. Hermione put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"You smiled at one point when you were doing the measurements. What were you smiling at?" She asked. Madame Pomfrey's smile grew as she moved the transducer again.

"That." She said as the image stilled. Hermione gasped and grinned as Harry and Ron stared at the screen a bit confused. Harry looked at Hermione questioningly. She shook her head and giggled a little as she reached up to point at the screen.

"Harry look. There's a leg and here's the other leg. Up here is the belly with the umbilical cord attached…" Harry stared at the screen for a moment before Hermione's statements registered and he realized what he was looking at. He gasped and looked at Madame Pomfrey for confirmation. She nodded.

"You and Cho were right. You're having a little girl." Harry grinned widely and didn't even try to blink back his tears. He couldn't remember ever being so happy and excited. Madame Pomfrey wiped the gel off of the transducer and stowed it away, before pressing a button to print out a small square picture of the baby's face for Harry. He looked up from wiping the gel off of his belly with the towel and smiled as he took the picture.

"Is there any way I could get two of them?" He asked. "I'd like to send one to Aunt Petunia and Sirius." She nodded in understanding and printed out another copy of the picture. Harry finished wiping up and sat up to button his shirt. Madame Pomfrey put away the rest of her equipment and came back to sit by Harry.

"Well, Harry. Now that you are back at school, and we've gotten a good look at the baby, I think we are safe to drop you back to every other week for your checkups. The every week thing was more to make sure that you were being properly cared for at home and I don't think that should be an issue here at school. And I won't be doing anymore ultrasounds until closer to the end of your pregnancy, unless we start to run into problems." Harry nodded in agreement. "However, if you have any questions or feel off in anyway in between checkups, come and see me immediately. Understood?" He nodded again as she helped him to his feet and Hermione handed him his robes. He looked at Madame Pomfrey for a moment and then stepped in to give her a quick hug. She looked startled for a moment before returning the embrace.

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey. Thank you for agreeing to take care of me and the baby. I know you didn't have too, you could have insisted I go to St. Mungos, but the baby will be safer for a lot longer because you agreed to this. It means a lot to me." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

"It is my pleasure Harry." She released him and he pulled away. "All right." She said, all business once again. "Off you go. I'm sure you've got homework needing done." She ushered them out of the room and watched them exit the wing before heading back to her office, a smile on her face. When Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the common room, they were met by a thoroughly offended Ginny.

"Were you up with Madame Pomfrey?" She demanded in a whispered hiss. Harry nodded, a little surprised by her tone. "I can't believe you went without me. I wanted to come too." She seemed genuinely upset and Harry was ashamed that he hadn't thought to ask her.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I didn't think to ask you. It's always just been me for my appointments, except a few that Ron and Hermione came to." She gave him a hurt look. "I really am sorry Ginny." He dug in the pocket of his robe and carefully removed one of the ultrasound pictures. He handed it to her. "Look." He said as he pointed at the baby's face. Ginny softened immediately.

"Oh, Harry. She's adorable." She said as she gently ran a finger over the picture. She looked back up after a moment or two. "Is it a girl? Could you tell?" Harry nodded and grinned.

"Hermione had to basically tell me what I was looking at, but, yeah, she's a girl." Ginny smiled and gave him the picture back with an excited glint to her eye.

"Now we can start shopping! When is the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry's face dropped a bit when Ginny mentioned shopping, but the girls didn't notice. They had already headed off to make shopping lists and plans. He resisted the urge to rub his belly and sighed, his happiness deflating a bit. Ron gave him a concerned look.

"You alright Harry?" He asked as they headed for their spot in front of the fireplace. Harry shrugged as they sat down. He took a quick glance around to make sure they were alone before speaking.

"I'm not sure I want to go shopping yet." Ron furrowed his brow as he waited for Harry to continue. "I'm still not sure if I can keep her, Ron." He said as he took the chance to briefly press a hand to his belly. "It'll just about kill me to give her up, but if it's the only way to keep her safe, then I'm going to do what I have to do." He said. Ron stood and reseated himself next to Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry. I'll talk to them; tell 'em to take it easy for now." Harry released a shaky sigh and nodded in agreement. Ron leaned his shoulder into Harry's in a show of support as he shook his head ruefully. "You know, I'm really starting to realize how foolish it was of me to envy you. I don't think I could do some of the things you've had to do Harry. Just know that I'm here if you need anything, Okay?" Harry gave him a tremulous smile.

"I know you are, Ron, and I really appreciate it." He sighed again a rubbed a hand across his eyes before glancing over at the girls. "I'm going to head up. I'm pretty tired." He said as he stood. "G'night Ron."

"Night Harry." Ron said as he too stood. He watched Harry disappear up the stairs before heading for Ginny and Hermione, fully prepared to rein them in.

Harry got through the next few weeks with very little trouble. He helped Angelina with the team tryouts and they wound up picking Ginny to be the new seeker and Ron as the new keeper. His belly was getting harder and harder to hide. His robes did a good job of it, but even they showed the now prominent curve when he moved in certain ways. He was twenty-five weeks in when he decided that he had to at least tell his dorm mates. He was tired of dodging them in the showers. It was a Friday after dinner when he asked Ron to round up the rest of their dorm mates and meet him in their room. He paced nervously around the room until they arrived, looking extremely curious. They all sat together on his and Ron's beds. Perched on the edges and looking at Harry expectantly. He took a bracing breath and turned to face them.

"I have something really important to talk to you guys about, but I need you to understand that what I am going to say cannot leave this room. Can you all promise me that? It's really important." The boys looked at each other but eventually they all looked back to Harry and nodded, promising to keep his secret. He sat beside Ron and started to tell them about the day Cho died. He stood back up and began to unbutton his robes as he finished. "So, now I'm twenty-five weeks pregnant and it's getting really hard to keep hiding it from you guys." He said as the last button came open and he smoothed his hands down over his belly, pushing the robes away in the process. Seamus and Dean stared at his belly in astonishment. Seamus' couldn't decide if he should look at Harry's face or his belly.

"Holy Mary, Harry. You're pregnant!" He said as his gaze finally settled on the belly. Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I know Seamus." He said. He gave them a moment longer to let the information sink in before he spoke again. "I'm trying to keep the news about the baby quiet for as long as possible. The longer she goes undetected by Voldemort, the better." He ignored the chorus of gasps and flinches and kept going. "Can I trust you to keep this to yourselves?" he asked as he looked at each of them. "If you don't trust yourself to not let it slip, then just tell me and we'll go to Dumbledore. He can make you forget what I said and make it so you don't notice anything having to do with the baby. Please, just be honest." He looked imploringly at each one of them in turn. Seamus and Dean nodded their agreement but Dean looked at Neville, skeptically.

"Neville, no offence, but maybe you should let Harry take you to Dumbledore. We all know you aren't very good at hiding things." Neville just grinned. "What?" Dean demanded. "This is serious Neville. Harry's counting on us." Harry walked to Neville and put a hand on his shoulder as he smiled.

"Dean, Neville has known about the baby ever since the train ride to school. He's been keeping my secret for weeks." Dean and Seamus looked almost as surprised about this as they had about the baby. Harry sat back down on his bed. "Thank you. All of you. This means a lot to me. At least I have one place where I can relax completely now. I'm getting tired of getting up at the crack of dawn to beat you to the showers." Dean was looking at Harry, a frown on his brow.

"How's the baby going to be born, Harry? Is there a spell or something to get it out?" Harry blushed and looked down at his belly.

"It'll be born the normal way. Cho's spell gave me everything I need to have her naturally." Now it was Dean's turn to blush and he shook his head slightly. "What?" Harry asked. Dean glanced at the other boys and then back at Harry.

"Maybe we should make up a shower schedule or something. I mean, if you've got girls bits we shouldn't really be showering with you, right?" He said. Harry closed his eyes and sighed as he rubbed at his forehead. He was developing a headache.

"They're not obvious, Dean." He said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Not unless you're planning on sticking me in stirrups and doing an exam in the shower." Dean's mouth dropped open but no sound came out as Ron snorted in laughter. Harry looked at Dean's bright red countenance and felt a pang of remorse for his sharp tone. "I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have snapped. I'm just tired." He stood back up and rubbed his belly as the baby started to move. "Trust me, exams with Madame Pomfrey are the only times those bits are seen and they'll go away once the baby is born." Dean seemed to relax a bit and nodded his head. Neville was the next to speak.

"Is she moving Harry?" He asked. Harry smiled and nodded. Neville held a hand out toward Harry. "May I? I've never felt a baby move before." Harry smiled and stepped closer, taking Neville's hand to guide it to the spot the baby was kicking. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt the baby's movements. Harry laughed as Dean and Seamus started jockeying around for their chance to feel the baby.

"Does it hurt when it does that?" Seamus asked when he felt some body part or another roll past his hand. Harry shook his head.

"Not usually. She'll dig her feet into my ribs sometimes or try to burrow her head into my bladder. Those can hurt, but not this. I like it." He said as he smiled down at his belly.

"When is the baby due Harry? Do we need to do anything if you start having it here?" Dean asked, looking genuinely concerned. He shook his head.

"She's not due until after the holidays. And, unless something really drastic happens I don't think we need to worry about her coming before I can get to the hospital wing." The boys all seemed to relax a bit at that. They asked Harry a few more questions and one by one started to make their way back down to the common room. Finally Ron and Harry were the only ones left.

"That wasn't too bad, huh?" Said Ron as he watched Harry lay back down on his bed. "You alright, Harry? You look uncomfortable." Harry groaned as he rolled onto his side and stuffed a spare pillow between his knees.

"I am uncomfortable Ron. My back has been bothering me more for the last couple of weeks and from what I understand, it's only going to get worse." Ron watched for a few minutes as Harry struggled to find a comfortable position before going to the closest cupboard and pulling out another pillow.

"Mum used to stuff one under her belly when she was carrying Ginny." He said as he handed the pillow to Harry. "She said it kept her belly from pulling on her back so much." Harry took the pillow and started to stuff it under his stomach. Ron smiled. "You know you're going to fall asleep as soon as I leave the room. Why don't you just get ready for bed awhile?" Harry grunted in frustration and yanked the pillow back out.

"You're right. I may as well just get it done." He got back out of the bed and started for the bathroom as Ron headed for the stairs. "You going back down?" Harry asked. Ron nodded.

"Yeah, Hermione's helping me with my potions homework. Night Harry." Harry gave him a halfhearted wave as he disappeared into the bathroom. Ron chuckled at him and trotted down the steps to Hermione and his waiting homework.

Harry awoke a few hours later with an urgent need to use the bathroom. He struggled out of his bed and hurried to the bathroom. He was washing his hands when he felt an odd sensation start to spread over his abdomen. It was a tightening, pulling sensation. It didn't quite hurt, but it was uncomfortable. He laid a hand on his belly and was disconcerted to say the least when he felt how hard the usually pliable mound had become. He quickly dried his hands and hurried for the stairs when he saw that Ron's bed was still empty. He had made it to the first stair before he realized that he was only in his pajamas. He cursed quietly and turned back to grab his robes off of their hook. He thrust his arms into the sleeves as he hurried down the stairs. He held the front closed as he emerged into the common room and scanned the occupants for his friends. The tightening sensation had left his belly by the time he spotted them off to one side of the room. Ron was still working on homework while Hermione appeared to be reading. He all but ran over to them and sat down gingerly beside Hermione.

"Hi Harry. I thought you were sleeping." She said as she looked up at him. "What's wrong?" She said as soon as she got a good look at his face. Ron's head jerked up from his parchment at her worried tone. Harry felt his eyes start to burn as he tried not to panic.

"I don't know." He said. "I got up to go to the bathroom and when I was washing my hands, I got this really weird feeling in my stomach. It got all tight and hard to the touch." Hermione immediately placed a hand against his belly, but he shook his head. "It's gone now. It didn't last long." He bit his lip and looked at his friend. "Do you think I should go to Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Are you bleeding or having any other pain?" She asked. He shook his head and she rubbed his arm. "We're nearly finished with Ron's homework. Why don't you just rest here for a bit and we'll see if happens again. If it does, we'll go right up to Madame Pomfrey." Harry nodded his agreement and settled himself into the overstuffed couch. He leaned over and rested his head against Hermione's shoulder as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. It was about twenty minutes later, just as Ron was finishing his charms homework, when Harry felt it start to happen again. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pressed it to his belly as he felt the whole thing pull up into a tight ball. Hermione gasped in surprise and tuned to face her distressed friend.

"Okay Harry. It's alright. Look at me." He opened his eyes and stared at her face. "Try to relax. Breathe deep and even." She did the same, breathing with him, as Ron quickly packed up his books. Hermione waited until she felt his belly soften again. She stood and offered him a hand up, which he gratefully accepted. They started out through the portrait hole, ignoring the fat lady's indignant mumblings about the late hour. "Is it painful when that happens, Harry, or just uncomfortable?" Hermione asked as they descended toward the hospital wing.

"Just uncomfortable, but, if it gets any worse it'll hurt." He said. His voice sounding scared. Hermione put her arm around him, trying to comfort him.

"It's alright Harry." She said. "I think I know what's going on, but we should still let Madame Pomfrey check you over." Harry looked at her expectantly and she smiled at him. "I think they're just Braxton-Hicks contractions." Harry paled at her words.

"But, I can't be having contractions yet. It's too soon!" Hermione shushed him.

"Braxton-Hicks contractions, Harry. False labour. They're just your body's way of practicing for real labour. They're normal at this point. It'll be alright. You'll see." They entered the hospital wing and heard the wards chime to let Madame Pomfrey know that she had a patient. She came bustling out of her private rooms about a minute later, tying her dressing gown as she came. She looked startled when she spotted Harry and his escorts.

"Harry? What's wrong?" She said in a no nonsense tone as motioned them back to his usual room. Hermione spoke up as she ushered Harry into the room and over to the bed.

"I think he's having some Braxton-Hicks, but we thought it best for you to check him out." Madame Pomfrey nodded and sat down in front of Harry taking his cold and clammy hands into her own warm ones.

"Tell me what you're feeling Harry." He nodded and took a deep shuddering breath to calm himself.

"I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I was washing my hands, my belly tightened up on me. It got pretty hard. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable." She nodded and encouraged him to continue. "I went down to Hermione right away and she had me sit with them for a while to see if it would happen again. After about twenty minutes," he said looking at Hermione for confirmation. "it came back. We came right up here after it went away." Madame Pomfrey nodded and then helped Harry to remove his robes and lay down. She lifted his pajama shirt and began to gently palpitate his abdomen. She smiled when the baby started to kick in protest.

"Settle down young lady. We're just making sure your Daddy is okay." She said softly. She prodded a bit more and then pulled his shirt back down. "Well, Harry. I think Hermione is correct, but just to be sure, I'd like to do an internal exam." Harry closed his eyes, and started to blush furiously. Ron made a bee-line for the door, mumbling something about waiting outside. Hermione touched his shoulder and he looked up at her.

"Do you want me to stay or wait with Ron?" She asked. Harry looked at her and decided that having her there would be a little more embarrassing than he could tolerate.

"You can wait with Ron, but, thank you for offering." She smiled at him and nodded before slipping out to join Ron, closing the door quietly behind her. Harry watched until the door was closed then looked back up at Madame Pomfrey who already had a sheet in her hands. She spread the sheet over him and then reached underneath to help Harry out of his pajama pants and boxers. She pulled them out and laid them over the nearby table before pulling a pair of exam gloves from the drawer and putting them on.

"Knees up and out Harry." She said as she hooked her hands behind his knees and helped him to bend them up. She sat beside him on the bed and laying her left hand over his abdomen, reached under the sheet with her right. Harry gasped and clenched his eyes shut as he felt her hand enter him and start the exam. He tried to stay relaxed by breathing in through his nose and slowly blowing out through his mouth. It was less than a minute before she finished the exam, but Harry sighed gratefully when she removed her hand and pulled the sheet back over his legs. She removed her gloves and rested a gentle hand on Harry's belly. "I think you're fine Harry. They were just some Braxton-Hicks contractions. The cervix hasn't changed at all. It's still tightly closed."

"That's a relief." He said as she helped him sit up on the edge of the bed. She held his clothes out to him and started making notes in his chart while he hastily put them back on. Once he was dressed Madame Pomfrey opened the door and let Ron and Hermione back in. Hermione looked from Harry, who was still a bit red, to Madame Pomfrey.

"Is he alright?" She asked. The medi-witch smiled and nodded as Harry stood and she ushered them back out of the room.

"He's fine. They were just false labour pains." She stopped them at the door to the hospital wing. "They are likely to happen again, but it's nothing to worry about. Sometimes taking a walk will help them go away. However, if you ever start having them where they actually hurt and fall into a regular pattern that can be timed, get back up here immediately, alright." Harry nodded and shrugged back into this robes.

"Thanks Madame Pomfrey. Sorry for waking you." She waved his apologies away and shooed them out the door.

"Nonsense. That's what I'm here for. Now go on, and get back to your beds. It's late." The trio made their way slowly back to the common room. Ron made two or three false starts at a question before Harry finally stopped walking and looked at him.

"What?" He said as he looked at Ron. Ron blushed and mumbled a question that Harry couldn't quite hear. "What?" He said again, a bit exasperated. Ron sighed dramatically and repeated himself.

"I was just wondering if it hurts when she does those exams." It was Harry's turn to blush as he started walking again. Ron thought he wasn't going to get an answer, but Harry eventually responded.

"Yes." He said as he glanced at Ron. "It hurts and, no, I don't want to talk about it. It's embarrassing." Ron nodded in sympathy as they gave the password and crawled back through the portrait hole. Harry turned back to his friends. "Thank you for coming with me. Sorry I kept you up." They all glanced at the clock and saw that it was just after one in the morning. Hermione stepped up and gave him a hug.

"It's alright Harry. I don't care what time of day or night it is. If you need help you come to us. Alright?" He nodded and returned her hug. She felt him droop with fatigue. "Alright, bed." She said. "You're exhausted. At least you can sleep in tomorrow. Don't worry about breakfast. We'll bring something up for you." She turned Harry around by his shoulders and gave him a gentle push in the direction of the boy's dorms. "Good night, Harry. Night Ron." She said as she started up to the girls dorms. She smiled as she heard them return the salutation and entered her dorm, gratefully seeking her bed.


End file.
